


Forever and Always

by SooperChicken



Series: Black Butler [2]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Demons, F/M, Family, Fluff, Grim Reapers, Protective Parents, Protectiveness, Romance, Soulmates, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-20 12:21:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8248727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SooperChicken/pseuds/SooperChicken
Summary: Ten years later, you are living happily with your soulmate and true love Sebastian Michaelis. Everything is perfect for you and you can't possibly think of anything you want more in life. A lot has changed in a decade, but rest assured that there will always be more adventure out there for you!A shorter-than-before sequel to 'Sheer Magnetism', complete with our favourite demon and several other characters from the prequel! A request from not_quite_gandalf, one of my lovely, lovely readers--I hope you all enjoy! ^-^





	1. Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [not_quite_gandalf](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=not_quite_gandalf).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You awake one morning next to the man you love, and begin what is pretty much a normal day. It is ten years after your confrontation with Dominic over the ownership of your pure soul, and today is virtually the perfect model of what your now perfect life looks like.

You felt the first rays of sunlight streaming through the window and tickling your face as you lay there in bed, warm and comfortable. You were well aware that it was probably going to be a very busy day for you but you didn't mind. There were many people who you looked forward to seeing every day and one of them lay right next to you, sleeping soundly. He sleepily draped his arm over your body and nuzzled into you as he did every morning. You giggled and stroked his hair.

"Sebastian, be careful..." you murmured, doing your best to prise him off you a little. His embrace did not loosen, but he lazily opened one piercing red eye and grinned a soppy, sleepy smile.

"Good morning, my love..." he whispered, kissing your shoulder from where he lay. He rolled back onto his back and closed both eyes again, crossing his arms behind his head. You leaned over and kissed him on the lips, upholding your tradition of either giving or receiving a loving kiss every morning.

"Good morning, darling..." you whispered back, lying down again to cuddle him. He moved one of his arms slowly to wrap around you, holding your body close to his. You rested your head on his strong chest, snuggling into his warmth and making sure you got enough of it to last you for the day, at least until you got to go back to bed with him and cuddle him again then.

You lay there together, basking in each other's quiet affection and warmth, listening to the ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece of the fireplace on the other side of the room. It was a hypnotic noise, and one that was so nostalgic to you that you could not help wanting to fall asleep again. In fact, you were so entranced by it that you almost didn't hear the bedroom door creaking open. Sebastian didn't seem to have heard it at all...

Just as you sat up a little to see what the noise was caused by, Sebastian let out a surprised wheeze and sat bolt upright himself.

"...Seamus..." he coughed, attempting to handle the little boy who had jumped on his stomach. "What are you--,"

"Father, it's time to wake up!" giggled Seamus excitedly, bobbing up and down on the bed. You smiled lovingly at your son, reaching out and gently tickling his cheek with your index finger.

"Come now, sweetheart..." you said to him. "Let your father wake up properly. You gave him quite a shock,"

"Yes, Mother!" giggled the child. You continued to smile at your little boy; he looked just like Sebastian with black hair and ivory skin, but as it happened he had your eyes. They shone a beautiful shade of (E/C). Seamus gazed up at his father with those big (E/C) eyes of his and grinned. "I'm sorry, Father...I just wanted you to wake up!"

Sebastian chuckled and ruffled your son's hair. "Well I am up now, aren't I?" he said, pulling the child into his lap. "But you really must mind your mother...You could have hurt her," he said softly, gently scolding the boy.

"Oh, yes..." said Seamus guiltily, remembering how vulnerable you were at the moment. You had slid out of bed by the time Sebastian had mentioned this to Seamus, and Sebastian eyed you affectionately from where he sat up in bed. You began rummaging around in drawers, looking for the clothes that you were going to wear today. Beautiful though you were normally, he found the unique, miraculous beauty of your pregnant form something to truly marvel at. There was more to it than that, though; it was the pride that he felt because you were carrying his child.

It was obviously not the first time you had been pregnant, and you had every reason to believe that it would not be the last. You both loved your children dearly, and found yourself desperately wanting as many as possible. A large family was very appealing to you, but after the little one that you carried you knew it would have to be a while before you bore another.

"I'm sorry, Mother..." said Seamus sadly, hopping up off his father and running over to you to give you a huge cuddle. You got down on your knees to cuddle him back, holding him close to you to show him that it was alright. He hadn't done any damage, after all. In fact, it had only been Sebastian that he had jumped on--not you.

"You didn't do anything wrong, darling..." you said, kissing his nose. He giggled and smiled up at you as you stood back up, before coming forward and kissing your swollen tummy. "What are you doing, sweetheart?" you asked, curious about his actions.

"Saying sorry to my little brother or sister," he answered earnestly, before shrugging his shoulders sweetly and grinning cheekily at you. Your heart melted upon seeing his cute little face beaming up at you; your children were absolutely adorable.

"Aww, I'm sure that they will be alright," you said reassuringly, petting his head lovingly. "Speaking of brothers and sisters, why don't you go and see if your sister is awake? Maybe she would like to play with you,"

"Okay!" said Seamus cheerfully, before running off to find Miriam, your daughter. She was two years older than Seamus, who was currently five. Miriam, at seven, was a beautiful, bookish little creature who also harboured a love of music. She had as vivid an imagination as you did when you were a child, and interestingly she seemed to exhibit some of the same powers as you. Seamus, in this aspect as well, was more similar to his father.

Just as you watched your son skip out of the room, Sebastian came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your body, resting a flat palm upon your baby bump. He waited a few minutes, standing in silence while resting his head on top of yours, until he got what he wanted--a gentle kick from your unborn baby. You felt his lips curl upwards in a delighted smile and he let go of you, moving to stand in front of you. He crouched down on one knee without saying a word and put his ear to your abdomen.

"I can hear them stirring..." he murmured lovingly as he stood. He pressed a warm, adoring kiss to your lips before putting his forehead to yours. "I cannot wait to meet them..."

You chuckled and kissed him again. "I cannot wait either, but they are still a few months away yet..." you said, looking at him with deep fondness.

"Our little family is growing..." he whispered, scooping you up into his arms as though you weighed nothing. He carried you over to the bed and laid you down before climbing on top of you.

"What are you doing...?" you mumbled, grinning up at him. Even in the morning, and even though you were pregnant, that didn't stop him from getting turned on.

"You know what I'm doing..." he murmured, kissing you passionately. He waved his hand flippantly over his shoulder and the door slowly swung closed, locking itself as if by magic. Of course it was, but demonic magic. "Are you ready...?"

"Always..." you whispered. You gave yourself to him, submitting to his touches and his manipulations of your body. You knew how careful and tender he could be with you while with child, so you had nothing to fear from any potential pain. He would never, ever hurt you.

-

"Miriam, Mother and Father are awake!" cheered Seamus, jumping up off the sofa and bouncing around like a jumping jack. "Mother! Father! Miriam has been reading to me!" he announced happily, running over to you and dancing around you both now.

"Has she really?" said Sebastian, smiling down at Seamus, then over at Miriam. "What have you been reading?"

Miriam smiled over at you both and held the book up. "Black Beauty," she said, making sure that you could see the cover. You smiled; it had been one of your favourites from years ago, too.

"What a good idea," you said, praising your young daughter. "It is a lovely story,"

"It is. And because horses are beautiful, I think that it is even better..." said Miriam, blushing a little. She was just like you, in so many ways. She had your hair colour and your facial features, but her striking eyes were those of her father. They burned the same lovely, amber-red colour as his. She was very beautiful, and you could tell that both she and her brother would grow up to be extremely attractive young people, regardless of whether they were demons.

"Well it is very sweet of you to read to your brother," said Sebastian, smiling lovingly at his little girl. He went over to her and sat down, leaning over her ever so slightly to see which page she was reading. She and Seamus were very clever children, so books of this length posed no difficulty to them. "You are a very good big sister..."

"Thank you, Daddy..." she said in a small voice, snuggling up to him. He smiled and picked her up, sitting her on his lap. "Please will you read to me this evening, though...?"

"Of course I will," he replied, kissing her lovely, glossy hair. "I would love to,"

She giggled and grabbed her bookmark off the nearby coffee table, slotting it between the pages that she was reading and closed the book ready to be resumed later on that evening. Just as she did this, Mey-Rin walked into the room and smiled at you all.

_"Gosh, what a perfect family they are..."_ she thought to herself before speaking. "My Lord, my Lady..." she said, grabbing your attention for good. "You have visitors...Shall I send them in?"

"Yes please, Mey-Rin," you said, smiling over at her from where you now sat in a nearby armchair.

"As you wish, Milady," she said, bowing to you and hurrying off to fetch your guests. You smiled over at Sebastian; he knew exactly what you were thinking. You were extremely glad that you had both taken the decision to go after the four Phantomhive servants after their leaving the estate and hire them to work at your own. Of course, that meant exposing yourselves as demons, but they had seemed to want to become just like you as well...So you had obliged. You would all be together forever, and you were all very happy. So much had happened in this past decade, but there would be forever to get used to it.

For example, you had already borne two beautiful children. On top of that, you had married Sebastian in order to make it seem less strange that you originally were not--having two demons marry officially was a little strange in itself but you had both gone through with it. It had turned out to be beautifully romantic, and you had been able to live out that wonderful human fantasy. You had not missed out in the slightest. Additionally, your father and mother had stepped down as the Marquess and Marchioness, leaving the titles to you and your husband. The reasons behind their relinquishing of their titles was not widely known, but you knew that it was because your parents wanted to see you take over as the head of the estate before it became clear that you were not getting any older...

You knew exactly who your visitors were, as well. You didn't even need to hear them speak to know what they were here for, as well. Just as you were thinking this, a bright red blur of someone stepped into the room to announce their arrival.

"Hello, darlings!" they gushed, looking around the room at all of you.

"Hello, Grell," you said calmly and with a sweet smile. After all, you were the head of the estate. "How are you?"

"Fabulous as ever, darling," he said, grinning that shark-like grin of his at you. "And look at these cute little demonlings of yours...Oh, how fast they grow...!"

Sebastian watched Grell warily from the other side of the room as not only was Grell stood in the room, but so was William T. Spears. It didn't exactly instil him with good feelings about the situation, with these creatures that he was supposed to hate as they stood so near to his wife and children.

"Grell!" cried Seamus happily, running over to the reaper and giving him an enormous hug for such a little lad. You knew, from looking at his father, that Seamus was going to be a lot bigger one day. But for now, he was only five years old. His tiny stature was cute and you wanted him to stay that way for a while.

"Hello, little one!" Grell replied, hugging the boy back. He was very fond of both of your children, and liked to play their little games with them. "And hello, Miriam. It is good to see you, darling!"

"It is good to see you too, Grell," she said, skipping over to join them. You smiled; Grell was like an uncle to the children and even though he would never admit it, William was a little like one as well. He wouldn't admit this either, but he secretly enjoyed it when he got dragged into the children's games as well. He liked it when Miriam read to him too.

"Hello, Mr. Spears," said your daughter, addressing him respectfully. She knew that he would appreciate that more than calling him "Will" at this stage.

"Hello, Miriam," he replied, pushing his glasses up his nose. He liked to appear indifferent, but he really did enjoy the company of your family--even if you were all demons.

"So, I assume that you are here for an update?" you asked the reapers, referring to your 'business' with each other.

"Yes," said William blankly, but then realised that Sebastian was watching him with a scorching hot gaze. "Have there been any other demons in the area?"

"Not to my knowledge," you replied. Your business with the reapers was chiefly to keep demons who were not members of your household out of the vicinity so that their job reaping souls was not in jeopardy in any way. In return, your family was allowed to hunt for souls and form contracts with humans for yourselves without the negative opinions of reapers or their interference. "We have not seen or heard of any demons in the area for several weeks, now,"

"Very good. Do you know where there might be any? Who are the closest to the area?"

You smiled knowingly and shook your head. "It is just us. I will notify you as soon as we have a problem,"

Will nodded, knowing that you were one of the few people that he knew were as good as your word--your word was  _very_ good. Grell didn't appear to have heard a word that you said, now sitting on the carpet doing a jigsaw puzzle with Seamus and Miriam. You sighed and chuckled to yourself, shaking your head a little. Sebastian continued to watch the three of them like a hawk, making sure that Grell didn't try anything funny.

He was such a brilliant, hands-on father. You couldn't have hoped for better for your children. Your heart started beating harder and faster as you watched him, taking in how incredibly handsome he was.

"Why don't you stay awhile?" you suggested to the reapers. You saw as they both looked at you, clearly appreciative of the offer. They nodded and you asked Mey-Rin, who stood in the doorway waiting for instructions, to fetch some tea. She wasn't as used to this as Sebastian was, but since he was no longer a butler and now a Marquess, of all things, she had to get used to it very quickly indeed. She smiled and bowed, and went away to fetch the refreshments. William sat down on another sofa, and Seamus hopped up beside him while Miriam continued to complete the jigsaw with Grell.

"Mr. Spears, may I try your glasses on?" asked Seamus excitedly. "They suit you so well; I was wondering if they might suit me too!"

Will eyed him nervously, knowing how badly he needed his glasses. "I will be almost blind without them..." he said, gently protesting to the boy's request.

"O-oh...Alright then!" said Seamus, at first sadly and then quickly recovering his joyfulness. "Please may I see your snippy-thingy, then?" he asked without falter.

Will sighed slightly and resisted rolling his eyes. He really was fond of your son, on the inside. "Very well then...Just don't hurt anyone or break anything, alright? I don't want to be held responsible by your parents..."

Sebastian had moved to the armchair beside you, simply to be near you as you watched the children playing happily with the reapers. There was no harm in it, after all. You knew what Seamus was thinking, though, as he played around with Will's death-scythe.

"I want to be a reaper too, some day," he said reverently, toying with the scythe. Grell looked up and Will glanced nervously across at you and your mate. You simply laughed out loud in genuine amusement while Sebastian glared at the reapers. He  _clearly_ did not approve of his son's 'aspirations'.

The reapers quickly continued to keep the children occupied while Mey-Rin returned with tea, pouring some for all of you. Sebastian found not having to do any of the work in the house quite relaxing, but of course he still had a wife/mate to look out for--who did exactly the same for him--and two children to raise, with another on the way. He didn't know that he would have been able to do that on top of his duties as a butler were he still in that line of work.

"...I am not sure that I approve of that..." grumbled Sebastian to you, making certain that nobody else could hear him.

You turned and smiled at him, stroking his hand as he rested it on the armrest of your chair rather than his. "He is just a boy, my love..." you murmured, reassuring him. "Children have all kinds of funny aspirations when they are young. It is just a phase,"

"I hope so..." he growled. He really wasn't very happy with the idea. Besides that, there were certain prerequisites to becoming a reaper that neither of you wanted for your child, let alone the fact that demons and reapers didn't really get along at the best of times. And right now, the situation was positively heavenly with the level of peace and friendship between said demons and reapers.

"It is, darling. You have nothing to worry about,"

Your mate gave you a weak smile, which slowly grew into a more assertive, cheerful one. "I don't know what I'd do without you..." he whispered, reaching his hand across to touch your stomach lovingly. You moved your own hand to rest on top of his. Beneath his warm hand, the child in your womb stirred at their father and mother's touch.

Everything really was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good evening, beautiful readers!
> 
> This is the first chapter of the sequel to 'Sheer Magnetism', as I've said in the work description, etc. This was a request from not_quite_gandalf, which I was more than happy to oblige! If anyone else would like to read something specific, please do not hesitate to let me know; I will always do my best to deliver on requests and in other writing!
> 
> I hope that you enjoy this little sequel--it won't be as long as its prequel but with luck it'll be lovely and fluffy, with some plot thrown in there for good measure! ^-^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	2. Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rather than calling for a tutor to teach your children their subjects, somebody much more learned and close to the family has taken it upon themselves to teach Miriam and Seamus.
> 
> Just another day in the life of your perfect little family...

"Daddy, what are you going to teach us today?" asked Miriam, skipping along the corridor alongside her father. Sebastian looked down at her and smiled affectionately.

"We'll do some literature and then we will work on your mathematics," he said, knowing that both of his children needed practice but also that--due to their young age--they would not be learning the harder subjects for some time yet. Besides, they wouldn't be interested in the ins and outs of politics, for example, not at the ages of five and seven.

"What kind of literature?" sang the little girl. Seamus, for once, was relatively quiet as he walked beside his father on his other side. He always got quite quiet when it was time for lessons...

"I was considering a Dickensian novel...How about Oliver Twist?" Sebastian suggested to her, knowing how much Miriam loved to read. Oliver Twist certainly had some very dark themes, but then again he hadn't come across many Victorian novels that didn't have particularly dark and brooding ideas at their core. On the bright side, though, Oliver Twist was about a young boy and Sebastian thought that perhaps this would appeal to his son as well.

"I love Dickens' stories!" cheered Miriam happily. Sebastian knew that she preferred the work of Sewell and the Brontë sisters, but Miriam would read literally everything.

He chuckled. "I know, darling," he said, pushing open the door to the children's study and letting them inside. He knew that Miriam wouldn't have been reading  _all_ of Dickens' works, purely because the less child-friendly books in the manor's library were deliberately kept higher up. They may have all been demons, but neither you nor Sebastian particularly wanted your children to be exposed to the darker side of life at such a young age. They would learn someday, but that was enough. You both wanted them to enjoy being children, first.

"Are you feeling alright, son?" said Sebastian, crouching down on one knee in front of Seamus. He really was very quiet today, and he couldn't fathom why. The little boy looked up from the floor and into his father's eyes.

"I'm fine, Father..." he said, before offering him a sweet little smile. Sebastian nodded, not quite believing his child.

"Very well then..." Sebastian stood up and ruffled his son's hair. "Go on and take a seat next to your sister,"

Seamus did as he was told and Sebastian went over to the bookcase on the other side of the room. He took his spectacles out of his breast pocket and put them on, before searching for the copies of Oliver Twist that he knew were in there. Of course, he made sure to keep them all in alphabetical order for easy access, and found them without any trouble. He approached his children again and handed them the two books he had in his hands. He didn't really need a copy for himself--he knew the contents of the book inside-out.

As Miriam eagerly analysed the book before her, turning it over again and again in her hands and inspecting the cover with deep interest, Seamus viewed it with a considerably more nervous approach. Sebastian noticed, but decided not to press the boy about it. He would wait a few minutes, to see if he could ascertain the issue before the lessons' end.

"Now," he said, capturing the attention of both children. He smiled, seeing them both staring at him with eyes as wide and shiny as dinner plates, and bright as full moons. He admired their enthusiasm so much, and marvelled at their youthful innocence. Their interest in everything was just so utterly genuine that it was nothing short of adorable. When he'd told you all those years ago that he'd wanted to have a family with you, he had known that it would be perfect but he was surprised by just  _how_ perfect it was.

"I'd like us to start from the beginning. Miriam, Seamus...You're going to take it in turns to read from the novel, switching when I give the word, alright?"

"Yes, Father," said the children in unison.

"Very good," said Sebastian, smiling at them both. He knew they'd be fine; reading practice was easy work for them at their age. It wasn't as if he was getting them to analyse Shakespeare. "Miriam, please can you start? Chapter One, first line,"

Miriam nodded keenly and began to read aloud. "Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning..."

Sebastian was already rather impressed with his little girl's ability. He had no doubt in his mind that she knew exactly what words like 'prudent' meant, and was pleasantly surprised that she could read with such fluidity and lack of hesitance.

He listened to her for a few more sentences, before deciding that it was Seamus' turn to read. He looked to his son, who met his eyes with a slightly wary expression on his face. Sebastian felt a little worried upon seeing this in his son, but asked him to read nevertheless.

"Although I am no...dis-posed to maintain that the...being born in a...workhouse...is in itself the most...for-tu-nate and en...env...en..."

Sebastian gazed at his son with sympathy, knowing that there were indeed some difficult words in the book for a five year-old boy to tackle. "Enviable," he softly corrected, smiling kindly at the boy who was quickly becoming flustered.  _This_ was why he preferred his sister to read to him rather than having the book himself. Sebastian allowed him to continue for as long as he wanted to, before asking Miriam to read again. He let her be the one to finish the chapter.

He looked up suddenly and saw you standing in the doorway, watching him teaching the children. You smiled softly at him, realising that he hadn't known that you had been there for a while now. You leaned to the side, against the door frame, with one hand on your tummy. You felt tired and suspected that you probably looked it, too, but Sebastian thought differently.

_"She is so beautiful..."_ he thought, as he always did when he regarded you. He shook himself back to the task at hand, though, and signalled to the children to stop reading. "That will be all for now. We can do a chapter every day, but for now I have some sums for you to solve,"

Both children looked to be content with this and took out their writing equipment. Their father gave them their sums--different ones--before taking a step back. "Call me when you've completed all of your questions," he said, stepping past their desks and approaching you quietly. You watched him come to you, and smiled brightly as soon as you realised what he was going to do. He took you by the hand and led you around the corner, gently pushing your back up against the wall and kissed you deeply. He always missed you when you weren't by his side.

"Sebastian...You're in the middle of something..." you whispered to him between kisses. Your husband was truly insatiable, and every time he found himself in the mood to shower you with affection he would undoubtedly be in the mood to do more later. To be honest, seeing him take the initiative, responsibility and authority of being the children's tutor, you found yourself even more in love with him than usual, and you had thought that was impossible.

He chuckled mischievously. "Then I'll just have to pick up again later on, won't I?" he murmured back, kissing your neck. You shivered excitedly, wondering where he got his passion from. Of course, you had no problem returning it but with a baby growing inside you it was quite cumbersome sometimes.

"Oh, Sebastian..." you sighed, scolding him gently. He smirked and kissed you again before licking your bottom lip, asking for entry. You parted your lips slightly and his tongue briefly snaked its way in, caressing yours. He pulled away quickly and grinned at you once more.

"Yes? Is there a problem?" he chuckled, gently stroking your face with his index finger.

You growled quietly and playfully. "No, not at all," you giggled. "You're just a naughty, naughty boy..." You kept your voice low and seductive, making it more of a purr than anything else. Sebastian groaned lustfully, keeping his own voice quiet enough so as not to alert the children to your shameless flirting.

"Oh, I'll be naughty for you..." he growled, resting his forehead against yours in an attempt to curb his arousal. It didn't really work but it kept him closer to you. "You just have to let me..."

Just as you giggled again and were about to kiss him, you heard Miriam and Seamus call out from inside the study. "Finished!" they cried triumphantly, and Sebastian sighed before giving you a resigned, apologetic smile.

"Coming," he called back to them, staring into your eyes. His gaze told you all that you needed to know--you were in for a long night. He kissed you once more, hard.

You watched as Sebastian walked back into the room, admiring his incredible form. You couldn't wait for the night to arrive, so that you could have that precious, intimate time together. You smiled to yourself as you heard Sebastian talking to the children, congratulating them on completing their sums so quickly. You turned and made your way to your bedroom for a nap; you were seven months pregnant and the baby was heavy. You needed some sleep, especially if Sebastian was planning to keep you awake all night long...

-

After the children's lessons, Sebastian was set to allow them to go back to their games and their playtime. He knew that Dorothy would have snacks ready for the children, too, but there were two thoughts on his mind. One of them was you, and how you were feeling, and the other was Seamus. He was worried about him. Before the boy could leave the study, Sebastian called him back.

"Seamus?"

"Yes, Father?" he replied, stopping at the door. He turned back and gazed over at him with his big, (E/C) eyes.

"Are you certain that you are alright? You were very quiet during our reading practice..."

Seamus looked down at his feet and blushed a little. "I'm okay..."

Sebastian walked over to his little boy and crouched down in front of him, taking him by the hands to make him look up. "Please talk to me about whatever is bothering you..." he said in a slightly pleading voice. He really didn't like to see either of his children upset, about anything. He and you would do anything to make them feel better. "Your mother used to do precisely the same thing..."

"R-really...?" said Seamus, disbelieving of what his father had told him. He smiled to think that you had been just as shy as he was now. "Well...I just get embarrassed when we have to read..."

"Why is that?"

"Because...I'm not as good as my sister,"

Sebastian chuckled, gazing at his son with an enormous amount of affection. "You're only five years old, Seamus...You'll get better one day, but you have to practice. That is how Miriam got better at it..."

Seamus nodded and managed a smile for his father. He looked up to both of his parents so much, so it stood to reason that Sebastian's reassurances meant a lot to the boy. "Alright...Thank you, Father..."

"You're welcome..." said Sebastian. He continued to search Seamus' face for answers, though. "So why do I feel as though you are not telling me everything?" he asked.

Seamus shifted from one foot to the other, clearly nervous about speaking his mind. He eventually found the courage, though. "I just want to impress you and Mummy..."

Sebastian gathered his son into his arms and hugged him. "We have always been impressed by you, and we are very proud of you," he whispered to the lad. He moved him in his arms and stood, letting him sit on his hip. "You will always be outstanding, as will your sister and one day your new brother or sister,"

Seamus smiled happily at his father and nodded. "I will always do my best!" he declared, hugging his father back by putting his arms around his neck. Sebastian chuckled and walked outside with him, carrying him to the playroom where Miriam was. Putting him down, he encouraged him to go and play with his sister. He watched them for a little while before excusing himself, asking Mey-Rin--as she was nearby--to look after them.

-

You napped lightly on your bed, as the sun from beyond the window streamed through and cast light upon you. It gave you a warm, gentle buzz as you slept, and you only woke up when you realised that the door had opened. You looked over to see Sebastian walking into the room, closing the door again behind you.

"How are you feeling, my love?" he asked, climbing onto the bed beside you. He put a hand to your forehead, almost as if he expected you to have a fever.

"I'm well, thank you darling," you replied honestly. He smiled and crawled onto the bed completely, so that his legs were no longer draped over the edge. He laid himself down next to you and rested a hand on your abdomen. The baby kicked almost immediately, as it had started to do with you, knowing that one of their parents was reaching out to them.

"Good..." he murmured, awash with the tender anticipation of your new baby. He kissed your temple and gently pulled you towards him for a cuddle. He just loved to be close to you. "Have you had any sleep?"

"Yes, a little..." you said.

"Well...Let's both get some then..." You knew why he was saying that and swatted him playfully, hitting him gently on the arm. He chuckled and squeezed you lightly so as not to hurt you. "What?" he asked, feigning indignation.

"You know what, you saucy thing..."

"You won't be saying that later..." he said impishly, tracing your waist with his finger. "In fact, I think you'll find that you'll be at a loss for words..."

You giggled and hugged him tighter, excitedly anticipating your night together. He loved to hint at your time together, and you loved it when he did it. There was no better match for you than Sebastian, and no better match for him than you. You smiled and let out a deep sigh--if Sebastian's tone of voice was anything to go by, you would need a lot more nap time that day if you were going to make it through the night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good day to you, my lovelies!
> 
> Here is Chapter Two for you, and I fully intended for it to be just as sweet as the first! The story itself will start picking up soon, but of course every plot has a lead-up ;) Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	3. New Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reapers have arrived for another update on the situation regarding demons in your mutual territory, but with them they have brought somebody unfamiliar to you. There are no doubts in your mind that they are a reaper too, but there is certainly something...unsettling about them.

You sat in the garden watching your children playing a game with Finny. You smiled serenely to see this wonderful spectacle; Finny was still young, and still employed as a gardener, but after becoming a demon alongside you and the others, he had only become sweeter and seemingly more innocent. While he and the other ex-Phantomhive servants sometimes liked to speak of their time at Ciel's estate, they didn't do it often. More often than that you would overhear conversations pertaining to how much they loved it at your estate. They didn't even seem to mind serving Sebastian as the Lord of the house--most of their duties at the Phantomhive Estate had involved doing as he instructed anyway.

Sebastian was inside making sure that Mey-Rin and Dolly were prepared for the visitors who were scheduled to arrive later on in the day. You knew that he wouldn't be inside for much longer--he was never far from your side and you were never far from his--but you admired how much he was taking on your usual day-to-day tasks. You had tried to do them yourself but after the beginning of your seventh month of pregnancy he had absolutely refused to allow you to go about your work, saying that he would do your duties for you as well as his own.

You couldn't have asked for a better life partner. He did everything he could to support you, and he was such a fierce protector of you and your children that you had absolutely no reason to feel unsafe.

Further out in the garden, you could clearly hear Miriam, Seamus and Finny laughing happily as they ran around on the lawn. You sighed and relaxed further into your chair, basking in the warm, early afternoon sunshine. You didn't even notice somebody approaching, until that somebody gently touched your lips with theirs. Your eyes fluttered open and you saw Sebastian leaning over you, smiling softly.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are when you sleep?" he asked, sitting down beside you. He leaned over the arm of the chair slightly, as though deeply fascinated by you. You grinned and giggled.

"Several times," you told him, which was true. Of course, you had protested every single time--it was simply your nature--but you couldn't deny that it made you very happy every time he complimented you. You had been a couple for ten years, but he never ceased to surprise you with how impossibly sweet he could be to you. You also saw how he was very much the same as ever towards everybody else; he could be ruthless, and every bit as impersonal as he had been towards them when he'd had a contract with Ciel.

"Well," he said, shrugging his shoulders slightly. Every time he did that, every time he  _moved_ , you couldn't get enough of how good he looked in both smart/casual and formal suits as opposed to how good he looked in a butler's uniform. "I suppose that I shall just have to keep telling you, in that case," he went on with a smirk. You playfully rolled your eyes and shifted in your seat to face him.

"Thank you for taking care of everything this morning..." you said, referring to his rapid preparations for the reapers' arrival.

"You don't have to thank me for that..." he replied softly. "I want you to get as much rest as possible...Three children means more work than two," he added, gazing down at your bump and then back up at you in order to give you a wink.

"What was the wink for?" you asked with a chuckle. You had a feeling that you already knew but he shook his head and refused to answer.

"That is for me to know and for you to find out," he laughed. "The reapers, however, should arrive in an hour or so,"

You growled slightly in mock indignation and grinned. "Very well, then," you said. "Are we clear on the fact that there are still no other demons in the vicinity?"

"I would imagine so, yes," said Sebastian, nodding in agreement. He was watching your children playing with the gardener, now, and a ghost of a smile danced on his lips. He loved those children so much, and the mere sight of his obvious affection for them was enough to melt your heart into a puddle.

"Good..." you murmured, careful not to break his trance just yet. You wanted to watch him for a little bit longer...

He turned on you suddenly and kissed your lips with a surprising amount of passion. The way he gazed into your eyes when he pulled away was so intense and so heated that it almost set you on fire. He didn't have to say anything to make the kiss' meaning known. Your own expression was one of deep love, and you wanted more than anything to kiss him again. Just then, you were interrupted by Mey-Rin who had just come to the garden from the house.

"M'Lord, M'Lady..." she said, bowing a little to you both. "There is someone on the telephone for you..."

You nodded and made to stand up, but Sebastian leaped up before you--knowing what you were trying to do--and gently pushed you back down by the shoulders. "Stay there, my love. As I've already said, I want you to rest,"

You sighed and sat back down. The baby was quite heavy, but it did not tire you out as much as he seemed to think it did. "I just want to help..." you said meekly.

"I know..." he said before chuckling. "It is just a telephone call, though. I am sure that it won't matter who takes it,"

He made a fair point and you watched as he walked back into the house to take the call. He was back within minutes, because the call was apparently not very serious. He sat back down next to you and smiled cheerfully.

"You see? It was easier for me to go than you..."

You sighed again and shook your head. "I just feel so useless these days..." you told him sadly. Of course, there weren't a great number of things that you _could_ do but there were many that you  _wanted_ to do. "It makes me feel very guilty that you are the one doing all of the work..."

Your mate laughed out loud and looked up at the sky for a moment. "My love, you are with child. I would think that this was more than enough work for you on its own. Everything I do is the least that I can help with,"

You wanted to hug him tightly when he said that, but you still felt a little miserable about the situation. You were very much looking forward to meeting your new child but at the moment it was rendering you rather immobile, and you liked to be kept busy most of the time. Sebastian seemed to know exactly what you were thinking and grinned at you.

"Don't worry, darling," he said, in an over-exaggerated British accent--not that it was all that different to his usual one. It sounded fabulous when paired with him. "There will be more to keep you occupied once the baby is born," He glanced over at you and winked. You laughed.

"I hope that you haven't forgotten that it will take some time before I can do  _that_ sort of thing again, Sebastian," you said between peals. He laughed with you and took your hand in his. "What was the telephone call about?" you asked, changing the subject.

"Ah, it was William. He was asking if we would allow another reaper to come into our home later on," he replied, a little disinterestedly. He still wasn't particularly fond of the reapers but he tolerated them for your sake and the children's. Neither you nor they had any real problems with the reapers, although you were still a little wary of them after their mission to retrieve your soul years previously.

"I see," you said. "I assume you told him that it was fine to bring another?"

"Yes, but I did tell him to warn them to be careful...I will not tolerate any threat to my family,"

You felt butterflies in your stomach--it most definitely wasn't the baby that you felt--as he spoke. His 'alpha male' stance and mentality was certainly a very attractive trait and it only served to make you feel even closer to him. You rubbed his hand with your fingers, smiling over at him. "I know you won't..." you said gently, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "And neither will I,"

He smiled at you and nodded. He knew that too. If he was going to be brutally honest, he didn't know of any force greater than protective demon parents. He held your hand and you both turned back to watch your children as they continued to play games with Finny.

-

"Good afternoon," said Sebastian, welcoming Grell and William to your home. You stood just behind your husband, ready to welcome them yourself. You didn't want to just sit around and not do anything, so you joined him in greeting your guests.

"Good afternoon, Bassy!" swooned Grell, skipping over to him. Sebastian ignored him as usual and led the way to the salon. You noticed that the reapers' new addition was standing a short distance behind William, and rather than their usual Reaper Academy graduates, this newcomer was a woman. You were quite surprised by this, but you knew for a fact that it wasn't as though female reapers didn't exist.

You caught her eye just as you were about to follow Sebastian into the salon. She was gorgeous, with the chartreuse eyes of a reaper--framed, of course, by a pair of spectacles--and dark purple hair, similar to the colour of Prince Soma's. She was slim and seemed to be quite toned, but her attractiveness was not what made you uncomfortable around her. There was no reasonable way to explain it, but it was just instinct that suggested to you that she wasn't to be trusted--not even to her colleagues.

"Ah, I do apologise," said Will, suddenly. "This is our new colleague, Emily Crewe. I should have introduced you sooner. Crewe, meet...the Marquess and Marchioness Michaelis," You noted with mild amusement his unwillingness to address Sebastian as the 'Marquess Michaelis', knowing that it wasn't your own title that he had an issue with. It was from his long-standing dislike of your mate, and his of Will, but you appreciated their tolerance of each other.

You sat down beside your husband on one sofa, while Grell occupied an armchair and Will and Emily took the sofa opposite you. You didn't manage to catch her eye this time, but you did catch her looking at your baby bump. You weren't sure how you felt about the slight expression she wore...and you couldn't place it definitively. Mey-Rin brought you and your guests tea, which she poured with considerably more grace and expertise than she would have were she still serving Earl Phantomhive. But that was not important at this stage...

Every time you thought back to Ciel you felt a slight pang of regret...You just wished that he hadn't ensnared Sebastian as he had all those years ago. It had led to your intervention...Nothing else would have freed your mate from that contract.

You sipped your tea as you listened to Sebastian taking the lead in the discussion with the reapers. They asked their questions and received their answers, but just before Sebastian was about to give them details about something that he had heard in the nearest city, Seamus and Miriam appeared in the open doorway.

"Grell!" they squealed happily in unison, rushing over to him. The redheaded reaper barely had enough time to put his cup of tea down before he was set upon by the excitable children.

"It's lovely to see you again!" giggled Miriam, hugging him affectionately. You and Sebastian smiled at your children, and you were happy that for once you could not sense any disapproval emanating from your husband. "It is lovely to see you as well, Mr. Spears!"

Miriam turned around to look at Will, who was pleased that he was being greeted so joyfully as well. Just then, both children stopped their cheerful welcome of the two reapers they knew and stared in nervous surprise at Emily.

"Oh...Hello..." said Miriam shyly, backing away from the reapers and up against your legs. "What's your name...?" She was clearly very wary of the new woman, to the point where she seemed to physically require the presence of her parents. It made your blood boil--even though Emily hadn't really done anything to warrant this--to think that this woman was making your children nervous, and in their own home to add insult to injury.

"My name is Emily..." she replied, in the softest, most fairy-like voice you had ever heard. You knew instantly that this was not how she really sounded; she was trying to come across as soft and flowery for the sake of soothing the children. "What are your names?" she asked, looking from Miriam to Seamus. You weren't sure that you wanted her to know...Your mother's intuition told you that there was something amiss, here.

"My name is Miriam..." said your daughter, still as nervously as she had asked Emily's name. "...and this is my little brother Seamus,"

Seamus looked over at Emily nervously from where he hid a little behind Sebastian. He had originally tried to hide beside you, but since his sister was there already he had gone to his other parent. You could also sense--through the seal that he had placed on your body when you mated--that Sebastian was deeply unhappy with how his children were being made to feel.

Emily smiled kindly at them both. "It is lovely to meet you," she said with glittering eyes. Maybe, you thought, she just found children adorable.

"Y-yes..." stammered Miriam. "Y-you too..."

You gently touched her back and despite her nervousness she did not flinch at the sensation. She obviously felt safe knowing that her mother and father were there to protect her and her brother. Seamus looked up at Sebastian with his big (E/C) eyes and gently tapped his arm. Sebastian looked over at him and offered a reassuring smile.

"Why don't you and your sister go and see if Dorothy will make you a snack?" he suggested, reaching over and gently patting his son's back. He wanted him to feel safe again, after all. Seamus nodded and trotted over to Miriam and took her by the hand. She smiled and followed her little brother out of the room, leaving you feeling more at ease yourself knowing that they were going to be with Dolly, as well as that they were going to be in a much better mood by being out of that situation.

But, even though you knew that your unborn baby had not yet come into the world, you felt as though you were still exposing him or her to the danger you seemed to be aware of.

After a little more conversation, Emily--somehow--managed to get you to a point where she could ask you about your baby. "Congratulations," she said at first, verbally acknowledging the unborn child. "May I ask how long it will be, now?"

You didn't mind that question as much as you minded her asking your children's names and making them nervous. "Thank you," you said first, recognising her compliment. "About two months away, at this stage..."

"Oh my, not long at all then, my Lady," said Emily, seemingly excited by the prospect even though she hardly knew you. Sebastian eyed her with suspicion. "You are looking very well, if I may be so bold...You are positively glowing,"

"Th-thank you..." you stuttered, unsure of where exactly her compliments were coming from. Not that you were inclined to question them, for they were lovely to hear, but you considered that it was because she was a new face and she wanted to establish a good working relationship with you if she was to be working with Grell and Will in your combined territory.

Emily smiled sweetly. "Do you think you will have another boy or another girl?" she asked, and you started slightly. There were questions, and then there were questions that made you wonder why they were asked. This was one of them.

"I am uncertain," you said dishonestly. To be fair, this was a question that the baby's father wanted to know the answer to, but while you were not  _completely_ sure what gender the child was, you had your hunches...

"Ah..." said Emily, almost as though suddenly put off asking questions. "I do apologise for my nosiness..."

"Not at all..." you said, trying to reassure her and make yourself look as though you didn't have a problem with the questions. After all, you had a reputation as a very friendly Marchioness. "Please, do not apologise. I simply do not know the answer to your question," you added, supplementing your comment with a little chuckle to suggest that you were very relaxed about the situation. Sebastian gently touched your arm and smiled at you equally so.

You could have sworn that you caught the first signs of a more negative emotion flashing behind Emily's eyes. You were not, however, certain of what it was either.

The five of you sat there for a little while longer, discussing other matters between yourselves, until finally it was time for the reapers to get back to their jobs. Apparently there were a fair number of souls in need of reaping that afternoon and evening, so they had to get going. You saw them all off, but could not shake the peculiar feeling that consumed your being. Sebastian seemed to sense this and rubbed your back comfortingly.

"Are you alright, darling?" he asked, closing the door behind him as you both walked back inside.

You nodded and let loose a sigh that you had been holding for a while, now. It felt like you hadn't been able to breathe for about an hour. "I am..."

"And I don't believe you," he whispered, pulling you into a soft embrace. "Your countenance is a worried one,"

You sighed again, almost like you were unable to stop. "There was just something about them today that concerned me..."

"Was it Miss Crewe?" he asked, knowing exactly what you were referring to. You nodded and he nodded back in agreement. "I must say, she seemed nice enough but a little odd..."

"I am pleased that you feel the same way..." you said honestly. You shook your head, trying to banish the thought from your mind. The reapers weren't there anymore, and you didn't have to think about it now. "At least I can have peace of mind knowing that my discomfort was not unfounded..."

"It is not unfounded, but I will always support you regardless," he told you, kissing your forehead. His strong presence was the most soothing thing in the world for you. He smiled down at you and led you back through the house towards the drawing room to sit you down. "You should rest--,"

"Sebastian, I'm fine..." you said quickly. "Truly,"

He smirked and shook his head. "Will my wife not just allow me to pamper her?" he asked, pretending like he wasn't speaking to you. You sighed and raised an eyebrow at him, doing your best to suppress an amused grin. You failed miserably and he chuckled. "Sit down and let me spoil you," he said, turning it into a command. He was taking advantage of the fact that you liked it when he took charge.

You sighed playfully and tutted. "Very well..." you said, drawing it out as though you were doing him a favour. You did as you were told and wondered where he was going. When he came back, he handed you a glass of lemonade and grinned, sitting down beside you.

"If anything can make you feel better it is home comforts..." he murmured, patting your knee gently. You smiled at him and sipped the cold drink; you may have been a demon who was supposedly only able to consume souls, but apparently that was not the case as you had proved many times. There were so many things that demons were not "supposed to be able to do" but almost all of these had been disproved. Such as not being able to feel love and also eating normal food.

"Thank you, darling," you said, leaning over and resting your head on Sebastian's shoulder. "I cannot deny that you know exactly how to cheer me up,"

"If I couldn't do this much for my wife, then what kind of husband would I be?" he chuckled, resting his head on yours.

You tutted again--still playfully--and grinned, giggling as you did so. You didn't ever want him to change, and you knew that he never would.

For a time, at least, you forgot all of your worries about the new reaper. You had your family, and that was enough to soothe your agitated mind.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good day, lovely people!
> 
> And here is Chapter Three! Hope you enjoy--I'm now trying to get the plot to pick up, so with any luck it'll work...  
> Once again, thank you for reading! It means the world to me! ^-^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	4. Out of the Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a fortnight after your previous discomfort, everything seemed to be alright. The children had forgotten all about their nervousness on the day the reapers last visited and although you have not forgotten yours, you have settled back into normal life.
> 
> That is, until an unknown saboteur throws a spanner in the works.

"Mr. Blomefield, the vicar, had a large family of boys and girls; sometimes they used to come and play with Miss Jessie and Flora," you said, reading aloud from Black Beauty to Miriam. She loved the book so much that she had finished it twice already, and now wanted you and Sebastian to read it to her before she went to sleep every night. You were, of course, more than happy to do this for her. You took it in turns with Sebastian, on alternating days, to be the reader, and it worked out very nicely because on the days that you weren't reading to Miriam you could go and read to Seamus instead. Reading to your children was just one of many activities that filled your heart with joy.

On this particular evening, you could see that Miriam was already getting sleepy. You had only just begun chapter nine, but you had to admit that she even looked tired when she had skipped up to you with the book before her bedtime. You smiled at her as she lay in bed with the duvet tucked up to her little chin, and as her red eyes started to flutter closed.

"Goodnight, butterfly..." you whispered to her, leaning over and kissing her forehead. You and Sebastian called her 'butterfly' just as your father had called you 'bumblebee'. She made a tiny little noise of acknowledgement, a mere mumble as though she had tried to reply to you but was too sleepy to do so. You gently stroked her hair back from her face and then softly ran the back of your index finger across her smooth, cushion-like cheek. You loved her so much, as much as you loved Seamus and their soon-to-be new sibling. You blew out the candle on Miriam's beside table and quietly left the room, barely making a sound as you closed the door behind you. From there, you would say goodnight to Seamus before heading to bed yourself. You hoped that he wouldn't be asleep just yet, so that you could see his beaming face before you left him for the night.

He was asleep when you got there, and Sebastian still sat in the room with him. He smiled at you as you entered the room.

"Sound asleep..." he whispered to you, standing up now. You nodded and smiled affectionately at the little boy sleeping in his bed.

"So is Miriam..." you whispered back, knowing that Sebastian would want to say goodnight to your daughter as well. He nodded and smiled gently, making his way out of the room to go and do just that, aiming to keep quiet so as not to wake the girl. You approached Seamus' bedside and leaned over to kiss his forehead too. You gently touched his arm through the eiderdown as he lay on his side with the duvet just up to his neck.

"Goodnight, little one," you murmured. He didn't stir, already in a deep sleep. It made you smile again and you, too, left the room. You headed to your own bedroom and began to get ready for bed yourself. You had managed to get into your nightgown well before Sebastian came to bed as well, and as soon as he arrived he smiled at you as you sat up in bed with a comfy pillow propped up behind you.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, beginning to prepare himself for bed. Usually he would find something to wear to bed as you did, but tonight he caught you staring at him as he undressed. He glanced at you from over his shoulder and smirked. "Did something catch your eye?" he chuckled.

"N-no..." you stuttered, realising that he had noticed. "And I am fine, thank you..."

He turned around with his shirt unbuttoned and grinned at you. "Still shy around your own husband?" he said, slowly walking over to you. You tried to stutter out a response, but found that you couldn't as he climbed onto the bed and crawled towards you on his hands and knees. He looked impossibly seductive when he did that, but you knew that tonight he was just being a tease--the children had run you both ragged and the tiredness in both of you was palpable.

"I'm not shy..." you protested.

"Then why are you blushing?" he asked, gently prodding your cheek as he continued to grin craftily at you. You laughed and jerked your head away so that he couldn't do it again.

"Because you are very attractive..." you mumbled, trying to look at anything but him. His grin only widened when you finally replied.

"Am I?" he chuckled. "Thank you. So that must make you very,  _very_ attractive, then,"

"How does that work?" you asked, seriously wondering where he got his logic from. All he did was smirk at you again before finally finding a response.

"Because I said so," he chuckled. "See...You have these beautiful (E/C) eyes, lovely, glossy (H/C) hair, the face and body of a goddess..."

You laughed a little. "You're very sweet, Sebastian, but have you noticed that I am seven months pregnant?"

"I have indeed, as it happens," he chuckled, playing along with you. "And you are as beautiful as ever," He kissed your lips gently before placing himself next to you and pulling you over for a cuddle. You happily relaxed into his warmth and sighed.

"I can always rely on you to make me feel better, can't I?" you giggled.

"I'm sure you mean that you can always rely on me to tell the truth," he said, resting his head on yours as you leaned lightly on his chest. You knew that you could lean harder upon him but you knew as well that if you did you would get too comfortable and never get up again. He made you laugh again and he kissed the top of your head.

"I love you," you said quietly, gently draping an arm over his torso.

You could almost hear him smiling as you started to drift off to sleep. "I love you too, darling," he whispered, fully knowing that you were entering slumber.

The last thing you remembered was the warmth of your mate and the gentle sound of his breathing.

-

You awoke with such a start that it managed to alarm Sebastian. He gasped and turned to you, wondering what was the matter.

"(F/N)?" he mumbled sleepily, but with evident worry. "What is the matter, love?"

"I am unsure..." you whispered, but you could not ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Again, it was not the baby, but you had a horrible feeling that it had something to do with the other children. "Please come with me..." you told Sebastian, getting out of bed. You noticed that Sebastian had fallen asleep on top of the duvet, while you had done exactly the same underneath it.

"Where are we going?"

"To check on Seamus and Miriam," you said quickly, making straight for the door. Sebastian leaped up and followed you, buttoning his shirt back up as he went. The candle in your room had gone out by now, and nobody was walking around the house at this hour apart from you and Sebastian. You reached Seamus' room just as Sebastian arrived at your side. You opened the door and walked inside, and your heart stopped.

"Where is he?" said Sebastian, looking around the room. You stood gobsmacked in the doorway, knowing that your son was nowhere to be found in the room.

"Maybe he is in Miriam's room..." you suggested hopefully, rushing out of the room towards your daughter's. You opened the door and walked inside, and you were met by exactly the same sight as before. "S-Sebastian...!" you squeaked fearfully, just as your husband appeared behind you. He began searching the room frantically, and not completely consciously. In his current state of panic, he did not need to think about searching for the children; it was in his nature. It was in yours too, but in your own state of shock you didn't know what to do with yourself.

"Where are the children...?" he asked, looking over at you with fear in his eyes. You shook your head and took a sharp, involuntary breath. Before you knew it, you had burst into tears. You could sense that Miriam and Seamus were not in the house--it was both your maternal and demonic instinct. You sank down to the floor and wept, unable to think of what to do. Sebastian was at your side in a second.

"Shh..." he soothed, cradling you in his arms. "We'll find them...We'll find them..."

"They aren't here...!" you sobbed, clutching at the sleeves of his shirt as you did so. "Why...?"

"I don't know..." growled Sebastian. "But can you smell that?"

"Smell...what?" you sniffled, looking up at him with big, wet eyes.

"Somebody else has been here..." he replied in a low, angry voice. "Somebody we do not know...and when I get my hands on them they won't live long enough to know about it,"

You shivered, knowing that he was deadly serious. Your nose wasn't as blocked as you'd thought it was, and you scented the air to see if you could pick up the smell of the intruder who had taken your children. You didn't recognise it, but you also knew that it wasn't another demon. You told Sebastian this.

"Well then, that will make it even simpler to kill them," he snarled, still holding you close. It was as if he was scared that you would be carried off next.

"How will we find them?" you asked.

"I will look for clues...You should go and ask the servants if they have heard anything or if they noticed anything strange before turning in for the night," he murmured to you. His gaze softened when he looked at you properly for the first time in minutes, and his eyes returned to red from the angry fuchsia that they had been. "It will be alright, darling, I promise," he whispered, kissing you gently.

You nodded and looked up at him sadly. You could feel how wet your cheeks were from the tears you shed, and you were hyperventilating. All you wanted was to feel your children in your arms again, to know that they were safe.

"And you know..." said Sebastian, adding to what he'd already told you. He offered you a reassuring smile. "...Miriam and Seamus are both demons. I am sure that if anyone posed any danger to them they would rip them to shreds,"

You forced a slightly strangled chuckle out of your wretched body. "I suppose they would," you said, admitting that--obviously--demons were dangerous beings even in childhood. "Do you really think that they'll be alright?"

"I know that they will, and so do you," he murmured, wiping tears from your cheeks. "We  _will_ find them,"

You nodded again and tried to stand, but Sebastian hooked both of his arms underneath you and picked you up to set you down again, a more elaborate way of helping you to stand. "I'll go and alert the servants..." you said, and made to leave the room. Sebastian watched you go, but called you back just before you went out of sight.

"(F/N)...I know that nothing anyone can say will make us feel better, but please try to be calm..." he said gently. "You still have to look after yourself," You realised that he was referring to the baby inside you. "...We must avoid sending you into an early labour..."

You knew exactly what he meant, and you agreed. While, yes, nothing would soothe your aching heart until you got your son and daughter back, you had to be careful in your pregnant state. Again, though, you felt as if you couldn't do anything to help because of it. But you  _could_ fetch the servants, so that was what you intended to do.

"Alright..." you said to Sebastian, offering him a weak smile. He knew how you felt, so he did not ask about it. He nodded instead and went about searching for more clues in the room. You went to find Mey-Rin, Finny, Bard, Tanaka and Dolly. As you walked, you could not help feeling completely and utterly lost. 

Suddenly a wave of anger washed over and consumed you. If you were given the chance to do so before Sebastian, you would absolutely  _destroy_ your children's kidnapper and all of their associates. You would spare them no fury, and you could promise them now without seeing them to talk to that you would be the most brutal opponent they would ever have come up against.

_No one_ threatened your family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, darlings!
> 
> Here's Chapter Four! Starting to pick up a bit now--dramatically! I thought that after the last chapter we needed a bit more plot going on over here so there you have it! :)
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	5. Bloodhounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search begins for your missing children, and even though there is nothing to be found within the house itself, you consider that there must be more clues further afield. What will you discover when you take matters into your own hands?
> 
> Note: This chapter includes themes of a more sensitive nature so I apologise in advance for this. According to the manga, the reapers come into existence through very specific means.

You paced nervously around the house, unable to stay still for longer than a few seconds. You did not know what to do, because you didn't know where your children were. You needed to have them with you again, to hold them. You couldn't think properly anymore. They weren't where they should have been. You had cried all of your tears, though--you knew that they would fill right back up though, and that they would begin to fall once more like the rain.

Your heart and soul felt dark, and all you could do was pace.

"Milady..." said Finny, approaching you gently. You turned around to face him and he saw that your (E/C) eyes were already shining again with tears. "We can't find any traces of the intruder or any clues in the house..."

You felt as though your face was about to crumple with sadness but you held firm and strong. You nodded to Finny and took a deep breath before speaking. "Thank you..." you said, thinking that you would be able to find more words to use than this. But they just wouldn't come. The gardener offered you a reassuring smile and reached out to you with his kindness.

"I'm sure everything will be alright, Milady," he said, in his usual cheerful, innocent way. You could tell, though, that the children's absence was having an adverse effect on him too. "We'll all work together to get them back!"

You looked at him with your teary eyes and smiled back a little. "We will," you said quietly, knowing that what he said was the truth. There was no way that you weren't all going to work together to find and return your children to their home. "Um...Finny, if anybody asks where I am, please tell them that I will be in the garden,"

"Yes, Milady," he said, beaming even brighter at you. You departed the main hall, where you had been pacing around, and headed for the garden. You needed some fresh air, but more than that you now wondered if you would be able to find any clues outside. You doubted it, but it was worth a shot. It was still very dark out, since it was the middle of the night, but you could see your way just fine. It was chilly out there but you didn't care; you didn't even really notice until the wind blew.

You walked all the way to the perimeter of your estate, to the treeline. Just beyond your estate was a thick woodland, and next to the woodland but still on your property was a boating lake of a fair size. You felt tears pricking in your eyes again as you thought of how much Miriam and Seamus loved paddling in the water and playing in the boat docked at the little jetty. You sighed as you stood near the shore, gazing out with sadness over the calm waters. The moon's reflection bounced off the surface of the lake and caught your eye several times. Just then, you caught a whiff of something on the breeze. You followed it over to the trees.

You didn't find anything there, but you did smell something strange. You didn't recognise the being that it belonged to, but the thing that made your blood boil was your recognition of their species. It was distinctly reaper, and you had to do everything in your power not to follow the scent in your anger. You were about to turn around and go back to the house with what you knew, when you were suddenly surprised by somebody already standing there.

"(F/N), there you are..." said Sebastian, pulling you into an embrace. "I was so worried when Finny told me that you'd come out here on your own,"

You sighed against his chest and shook your head. "I needed some fresh air, but that isn't important. Can you smell that?"

Sebastian took a deep breath of night air and his eyes flashed fuchsia. "That's a reaper..." he growled, clearly ready to pounce on the next thing he saw. Obviously that didn't include you. "You found that?"

"Yes, they went into the woods. I do not doubt that they had the children with them," you growled back. The anger flowing through your body was incredible; you couldn't remember the last time you had felt such rage bubbling in your blood.

"Come back to the house with me," said Sebastian, more gently now. He looked at you with a softer expression as well. "I would hate for anything to happen to you out here..."

"I'm alright..." you whispered, but you acquiesced anyway. You knew how much of a worry-wart he could be, so it was best not to make things worse. If anything, his protectiveness over you was only going to intensify. "What are we going to do?" you asked, walking back to the house.

"We're going to call Grell and William, and ask them what they know about this," murmured Sebastian. You could hear how cross he was, underneath his gentleness towards you.

"Tonight?" you asked, wondering if he was as serious about this as he sounded.

"Yes. We should not delay in gathering information,"

You nodded and sighed quietly. Again, you felt as though you couldn't do anything to help. You had been glad to be the one to pick up the mystery reaper's scent at the edge of the woods but now it seemed as though everyone else was going to take it from here. You followed your husband, with your arm linked with his, to the salon where he would be making the phone call to the reapers. You knew that even though the reapers did sleep more often than demons did, they still didn't make much of a habit of it.

You sat on one of the sofas and watched as Sebastian called Will, first. He knew that they weren't together 24/7--Will would go absolutely loopy if he had to spend that much time with Grell--so it stood to reason that they would have to be called individually.

_"Hello?"_

"Hello," said Sebastian with a dangerously sharp edge to his voice. "I was wondering if I might be able to ask you about something concerning my family,"

_"What is it?"_

"There has been an incident here and we have picked up the scent of a reaper within the property boundaries," growled Sebastian. He didn't care if Will was in a bad mood due to being called at this hour. "Can you explain this?"

Will seemed to think for a moment before replying; it took him some time to come to a conclusion.  _"I do not have an explanation for that. I have not been to your estate since we last came to discuss our arrangement. What sort of 'incident' was it?"_

"I would prefer not to discuss that over the telephone,"

You understood perfectly well why Sebastian would say this. You were more surprised, however, to hear Will's response.

_"I will call Sutcliff and we will both come to your estate to talk about this further. Expect us in half an hour,"_

With that, Will hung up on Sebastian. He did not look overly satisfied with the way the conversation had gone, but he turned to you with an expression that said  _"you heard what he said"_. He sat down beside you and stroked your hair, before leaning over and kissing your temple. "It'll be alright..." he whispered. "They're on their way..."

You nodded and leaned into him, desperate for any kind of contact with him. He was your rock; you didn't know what you would do without him.

-

Will and Grell arrived exactly when Will said they would. Grell looked extremely tired but Will had practically dragged him there so he had no choice. Besides, if he had known the nature of the 'incident' at your estate then he would have been the first one there.

"So what happened here?" asked Will, looking around him for answers.

"Miriam and Seamus have been kidnapped," said Sebastian bluntly. You clutched at your chest near your heart, feeling the pain stabbing you there over and over again. The reapers' eyes grew wide behind their spectacles and Grell's mouth hung agape.

"W-what...?" he stammered, unable to get his head around what Sebastian had just told him. "How did--,"

"We don't know," Sebastian interrupted, clearly not wanting to go into detail over how somebody had managed to sneak into a lair of demons without being detected, and steal away with their children. "What  _we_ want to know is, do you know who it could have been? When was the last time that  _you_ were here, Grell?"

Grell looked positively offended by Sebastian's question and took obvious umbrage to it too. "The last time  _I_ was here was with Will, I'll have you know!" he replied indignantly, folding his arms across his chest. "I care very deeply for your children; I would never do anything like this!"

You searched Grell's face for any signs of a lie, but you found nothing. This was your suspicion, however--you knew that Grell wouldn't have had anything to do with Miriam and Seamus' disappearances. You had a distinct feeling that Will didn't have anything to do with it either.

"Fine. And you say that this was when you were last at the estate as well, Spears?" Sebastian said, turning on the other reaper. Will appeared to bristle slightly at the way in which he was addressed, but responded with adequate respect and composure.

"Yes. The last time either of us were here was when we came for our most recent briefing," said Will, standing still and calm under Sebastian's intimidating stare. Your husband was eventually forced to let up, though, upon sensing your own satisfaction with the reapers' answers. You did, however, have questions of your own. The scent that you had picked up at the edge of the woods also had flowery, feminine undertones. Apparently Sebastian had not picked up on this himself.

"Um...May I ask something of you both?" you asked, coming forward slightly. 

"Of course you can...Marchioness," said Will, calling you by title more contently than he was to do the same for Sebastian. He was rather softer towards you as a demon than he was towards others, despite your children. You could feel emanating from him an intense feeling that was a mixture of sadness and worry, and you knew that it was because he cared about the welfare of your children too.

"Thank you. When was the last time that you saw Emily? I notice that she is--obviously--not here with you tonight," you said, indicating your suspicion of the female reaper. Will appeared to be a little uncomfortable with this question, and you had a feeling that you knew why. However, even though Will was about to respond, Grell beat him to it.

"The last time we saw her was the same day as you..." he said. "We haven't seen her since. Apparently she's been rather busy with work..."

"I see..." you said, although with evident doubt.

"I do not know that she has been working all this time," said Will, butting into the conversation again. "I haven't seen any of her paperwork, and she hasn't been signing in or out of HQ these past couple of days,"

You bristled yourself at this news, considering it to be highly suspicious. It certainly incriminated Emily. You did not trust her at all, and you hadn't since the moment you met her...But that, frustratingly, did not mean that she was the culprit. You didn't know what to think, but at least you had something of a lead now.

"Is there anything else about her that we should know? After all, her sudden absence is rather suspicious," said Sebastian, wrapping his arm around you for your comfort. And his, you suspected. Will and Grell both appeared to think about it for a minute, before shaking their heads.

"I'm sorry, nothing comes to mind," said Will. After all, he really didn't know everything about the reapers. "However, please do not hesitate to let us know if there is anything that we can do to help in the search for your children...We will look around for ourselves, though,"

"Thank you..." said Sebastian, sighing a little. He was losing steam, you could tell. He wouldn't give up, and neither would you, but you knew that he thought that he was losing potential leads. "We would appreciate that very much..."

Will nodded to you both before politely taking his leave. After all, there was nothing more to be said or done here. Just as Grell was about to follow him, he stopped and turned back to you with sudden excitement.

"Oh, I've just remembered something!" he gasped, coming back over to you. Will was already gone from the hall but Grell remained, clearly very animated about what he'd managed to recall. "There was something...peculiar about Emily and the way she became a reaper..."

"And what might that be?" said Sebastian, deeply interested in what he was going to tell you both.

"I probably shouldn't be telling you this--since the nature of our existence is very...sensitive--but it may help in your search for your children," said Grell. "Emily...could not live with herself after her younger sister took her own life, so she did the same,"

"Oh, how awful!" you exclaimed, shaking your head. This was never a topic that was easy to talk about.

"Yes, well..." Grell smiled awkwardly and shook his head. You knew that this was how all reapers came to be, so you felt very bad for Grell and Will, knowing that this was what they had gone through. "...The thing about it that may be of interest to you is the reason behind her sister's passing...She found out that she was unable to have children,"

Your heart stopped beating for a moment and you froze stock still; so did Sebastian. You had a funny feeling that you knew exactly what this meant, but once again you could not bring yourself to accuse Emily outright of kidnapping Miriam and Seamus. You thanked Grell and he hugged you gently before leaving the house himself. Will was long gone at this point. You turned to Sebastian and asked him about what you had just heard.

"I believe that we are going to have to take this further afield," said your mate, holding you gently in front of him. "I will take two of the servants with me in the morning to the nearest city, and see what we can find,"

"Are you sure? I would like to come with you..." you said, eager to be able to do something. Sebastian smiled softly at you and kissed your forehead.

"I am sure, but I need you to stay here. I know how much you want to help, but trust me when I say that it is helpful if you remain safe at home..." he told you, pulling you into a warm embrace. "I don't want you to become tired out,"

You sighed and nodded. You knew that he would try to stop you from accompanying him to the city, but you also knew that it was because he loved you and cared about your well-being more than anything.

"Thank you..." he murmured, kissing you again. "I'm only saying this for your protection,"

"I know you are..." you whispered, cuddling into him as he stood before you. You loved him so much, you couldn't bring yourself to be  _too_ upset with his decision to ask you to stay at home.

Sebastian walked you to your room for a lie-down. He knew that you wouldn't be able to sleep, but at least if he laid down with you then you might feel safer and more at ease.

You had to admit that it helped, but still you could not relax; you needed your children to come home. You snuggled into Sebastian and allowed him to cuddle you back. At least in the morning he would be going out to continue with the search for your missing children. You couldn't wait for them to come back to you...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!
> 
> Chapter Five has arrived, and Chapter Six is on its way! Thank you for reading this far! :)
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	6. Into the City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian takes a couple of the household servants into the city to search for further leads on your missing children. You're hopeful for some new clues as you wait at home for their return. However, what they do return with is most unexpected...

Sebastian knew his mission and he would stop at nothing until he was able to return to you with  _some_ kind of clue as to the whereabouts of your missing children. He had been in the city since daybreak, but before leaving he had called for Mey-Rin and Baldroy to come with him and had again insisted that you remain at home with Dolly and Finny. So there you stayed, anxiously awaiting their return.

As they scoured the city for leads--not that they were expecting to find many at this early hour, for barely any people were out and about at this time in the morning--Sebastian's thoughts were divided perfectly in half. They were solely with you and the children, nothing else. He'd even forgotten that two of the servants were out there with him, so it surprised him when he saw Baldroy walking up to him.

"We ain't found anythin' so far," he said, rubbing the back of his neck out of awkwardness. "Sorry, sir,"

Sebastian shook his head and sighed. He felt slightly odd every time he heard one of the Phantomhive servants calling him 'sir' or 'my Lord' or words to that effect. "That's quite alright, Bard," he said quietly, looking down at the cobblestones. Bard sighed himself; he had never seen Sebastian looking so forlorn. Having said that, since meeting you Bard had never seen Sebastian wear a number of expressions but he certainly did now.

"Well, let's see what Mey-Rin comes back with," said the chef, coming to stand beside his new master. He hadn't ever thought that the butler he had once worked under would become his boss one day. He hadn't even realised that he was a demon before he'd started to work for him...It had been surprising to say the least, and more than just a little disturbing.

The two of them stood there in wait for Mey-Rin to return, watching more and more people coming into the city. As the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, the city began to fill with many more, and soon it was absolutely teeming. Sebastian and Baldroy retreated a little into the city square to remove themselves from the bustling streets. Sebastian was taller than Bard, so he could see a little further than he could.

"I still cannot see Mey-Rin anywhere..." growled the master, glancing over at the chef. "You don't suppose she's gone and lost herself in the city, do you?"

Bard sighed and rolled his eyes a little. "Seems probable," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. Even as a demon, Mey-Rin was as clumsy as ever. She refused to take off those glasses that Ciel had given to her.

"This is ridiculous..." sighed Sebastian, tapping his foot impatiently. "How can she have gone missing while nobody was around...?"

Bard was just about to reply when suddenly he saw her, weaving in and out of the throngs of people scurrying about. He waved to her to catch her attention, and she smiled when she spotted him. She started to run--automatically setting off alarm bells in Sebastian and Bard's heads--and somehow managed to avoid several people. She was almost at the spot in which they stood, when suddenly someone rushed by in front of her. She ended up running straight into the other person, and both went flying.

"Mey-Rin!" Sebastian shouted, embarrassed by her having crashed into this stranger. It was hardly befitting for a member of your household.

"Mey-Rin, are you alright?" cried Bard, rushing over to help her up. He glanced over at who she'd run into, and once Mey-Rin was on her feet Bard rushed to help her up too. He was even faster than Sebastian, which surprised him. "You alright, Miss?"

The young woman who they did not know looked up at Bard and smiled, blushing slightly. She had the biggest blue eyes which twinkled as she looked at him and he caught himself, feeling suddenly startled by her attention. "I'm fine, thank you. I'm so sorry...This was all my fault; I ran into your friend, here," she said quickly, shaking her head over and over again in regret. She looked around Baldroy and offered Mey-Rin an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry, Miss," she repeated with sad eyes.

Mey-Rin shook her head. "No, no, Miss...It was my fault. I'm terribly sorry...Please forgive me!"

Sebastian sighed and approached them all, with Bard in the middle. "Is everybody unharmed?" he asked, looking between Mey-Rin and the young woman.

"Everything's fine, by the looks of things," said Bard, nodding to Sebastian. "Just a bit of a clash, wasn't it, ladies?"

Both the maid and the stranger nodded. Sebastian glanced at the woman again and the light of recognition lit behind his eyes although his expression did not change. If it had, it would have shown his immediate anger. She looked just like Emily Crewe, with similar facial features and the same purple hair. She was not a reaper, though; she did not have the same eyes, of course.

"I apologise on behalf of Mey-Rin," said Sebastian, withholding his distrust of the young woman. "I sincerely hope that you have not sustained any injuries..."

"Thank you, sir, but I really am alright," said the woman, smiling at him. Just then, she seemed to realise something. "Oh my goodness...Are you Lord Michaelis?" she asked, scanning his face as if she had seen him somewhere before. Sebastian was a little taken aback by this sudden question, but nodded nevertheless.

"I am...Might I ask your name, Miss?"

"Georgina Crewe, youngest daughter of Baron Crewe," she said quickly, seemingly eager to introduce herself. Sebastian wondered why, but now it was clear in his mind that this girl was the sister of his prime suspect in the kidnapping of Miriam and Seamus. But he had to keep his composure and his dignity; this was very uneven ground that he now walked.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Crewe," he said, bowing to her slightly. He could not make much of a show of his greeting towards her because of how public their location was. He did his best, though. "I hope that you can forgive the clumsiness of my servant..." he added, glancing at Mey-Rin in such a way that actually indicated to her that he wasn't blaming her completely. For once.

"Oh, there is nothing to forgive. I was entirely to blame so please do not worry, my Lord," said Georgina, bowing her head in apology to him for the trouble that she had, in fact, caused.

"Not to worry," said Sebastian, straightening up. "Let's let bygones be bygones, shall we?"

"Yes, let's," she replied, smiling sweetly up at him. He could not believe how much she looked like her sister; it was quite uncanny, and it made him angrier to think that this woman, who was speaking so nicely to them now, could have knowledge of his missing children. Still he maintained his calm outer appearance, and did not give in to his desire to shake the information out of her. For all he knew at this stage, she knew nothing of her sister's deception and criminal behaviours...and for all he knew about Emily, she could have been innocent at this juncture. But the Crewes were his best lead.

Just as the conversation was about to drop, Georgina seemed to remember something. "Oh, Lord Michaelis?" she said, recapturing his attention. He wondered if this was going to be his chance to pry into her relationship with her sister. "I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"My parents are hosting a ball on Friday, and they have invited several other noble families...I was wondering if you and your wife might like to attend?" said Georgina, appearing to be asking in earnest. Sebastian couldn't find any reason to doubt her integrity at that point, much to his frustration. He calmed himself and smiled serenely, nodding once in a very regal fashion.

"You are very kind to invite us, Miss Crewe. We would be honoured to attend," he said, doing his best not to let on that he was suspicious of her.

"Excellent!" she said happily, clapping her hands together. She was a little bit like Elizabeth Midford, he thought. "This is very good news! I shall inform my family--they will be most excited to hear of a Marquess and Marchioness attending their ball!"

Sebastian was, again, taken aback by Georgina's excitement but remained still and dignified. "You flatter us," he said, smiling gently but falsely. "What time should we arrive?"

"Ah, the ball begins at seven," said the young woman, suddenly realising that she hadn't already said that. "I look forward to seeing you there!"

Sebastian bowed slightly to her as she took her leave, hurrying off again in the same direction as she had been before. "She is as hasty as you are, Mey-Rin," he said to the maid, glancing at her from over his shoulder.

"Y-yessir! I'm so sorry for bumping into 'er, yes I am!" she gabbled, once again apologising profusely.

"Well, at least you got a party out of it," said Bard, shrugging his shoulders. His flippant remark almost-- _almost_ \--made Sebastian grin. The party invitation had almost been too convenient, but at least it was an enormous window of opportunity. Sebastian could feel it in his heart and soul that he was on the right path now, and that you were right all along to distrust Emily. That reminded him--he had to get back to you.

"Come now," he said to the servants. "Let us be off. I need to get back to (F/N),"

Ever since learning that Sebastian had been in a relationship with you for however long it had been when they found out, Mey-Rin and Bard had felt rather jealous about it. While the servants adored you both, they were also extremely jealous that you were pregnant with his third child and that of course it rendered you and the children the centre of his attention, and him and the children the centre of yours. It stood to reason, but it was hard to get their heads around. They followed Sebastian back to the carriage parked a few streets away, and they all returned to the mansion.

-

"Hello, everyone," you said, happily greeting them as they came through the front doors. Sebastian hugged you gently and you embraced him back, and you smiled at the servants. "Did you find any clues in the city?"

Bard and Mey-Rin shifted from one foot to the other and thought about how to word what they knew, but Sebastian interrupted any attempt they might have made to explain it to you. "We've been invited to a ball on Friday," he said gently, stroking your soft hair. 

"Oh really?" you said, not quite believing it. In these dark times for your family? "Where?" you asked, considering that there had to be a reason for Sebastian telling you this. It  _must_ have had something to do with the search...

"At the estate of Baron Crewe," he replied, almost victoriously.

"Baron...Crewe? As in...the relative of someone else we know by that name?" You glanced over at the servants, knowing that Sebastian would have informed them of the significance of the surname 'Crewe' if they didn't know it already. 

"Yes...I have reason to believe that Baron Crewe is Emily's father," said Sebastian, gently rubbing your arms as he held you in front of him. "We...came across a lady by the name of Georgina Crewe while in the city. I think that she must be Emily's sister, given her last name and striking resemblance to her,"

You nodded and conceded that going to this party was your best shot at finding your children. "When do we go?" you asked, clearly eager to get back on the case.

"This Friday at seven," said your husband, smiling at you. "But please try to relax a little until then...You know how I worry about you,"

You sighed and rolled your eyes playfully. "I know you do," you said, but when you thought about it you knew how he would also know that you couldn't possibly relax for another two days. It was only Wednesday. You sighed and leaned into Sebastian, requiring his comforting presence.

You decided that, after this, you would not back down to anything. You would be there to help find your children, even if you were absolutely exhausted.

It wouldn't be long now, you thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! ^-^
> 
> Chapter Six for you, as I promised yesterday! And, like yesterday, I promise another chapter very soon! See you in the next one :)
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	7. The Lion's Den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After receiving an invitation to a party at the home of your biggest suspect in the kidnapping of your children, you are relieved to know that Friday has finally rolled around. You prepare yourself for the night ahead, but you eventually find that you cannot prepare for everything that you are faced with...

You sat at your dressing table brushing your hair, making sure that you got every knot. You would not stop until your hair was silky and smooth, and until your hairstyle matched the way you'd made sure the rest of you looked. You wanted to look refined and proper tonight, and make it clear that you were fit to be out and about. You were in no mood to be fooled around with, and you certainly weren't going to be walked over.

Despite your baby bump, you still managed to fit into a dress that you would normally wear when you weren't. It was just the corset that was the problem, but it wasn't as if you needed to conform to standards of fashion as a pregnant woman--the reasons for this were obvious. When you finished brushing your hair, you placed the brush back down on your dressing table and stood, moving to the main bedroom where you knew that Sebastian would be finishing off his own preparations.

"Dashing as ever," you said sweetly, coming up behind him and running your hands across his shoulder blades. You felt him relax at your touch, and he turned around to face you after straightening his suit jacket. He gazed at you with such soft eyes that you thought you'd melt.

"Such a compliment only has meaning when it comes from you," he murmured, leaning in to kiss you. "And you are as beautiful as ever,"

You blushed at his compliment too, and cuddled closer to him. "Likewise," you whispered, kissing his cheek. You honestly loved him so much that you didn't know what you'd do without him. "Are we ready to go?" you asked, looking up into his eyes.

"I believe so," he said with a smile. "I am certain that we will gain some valuable information tonight,"

You nodded. "I hope so," you said, letting out a short sigh. You were incredibly nervous about the possibility of being caught out, or something terrible happening while you were there. Just as you thought this, and as you walked with Sebastian out of the room and towards the staircase, you cried out suddenly in pain and doubled over, clutching at your stomach.

"Darling, are you alright?!" Sebastian cried, kneeling down so that he could see your face. He tilted it up so that he could look you in the eyes. "Is it the baby?"

"I don't know..." you gasped in agony. "I don't think so, but...It hurts...!" You grappled for the nearby banister to hold yourself up, and to stand up straight. Sebastian put an arm around you to support you in whatever you wanted to do from there, but he also had his own ideas.

"I think you should stay here tonight...I wouldn't want you to be in this kind of pain at the Crewe Estate,"

You looked up at him with resolve and determination in your eyes. "No. I'm going with you this time; I don't want to sit around doing nothing while our children are out there..."

Sebastian blinked once and then shook his head. "I'm sorry, darling. I won't allow it...You still have this little one to look out for; I can go and rescue Miriam and Seamus and bring them home..."

"Why must you always be the one to do these things?" you argued gently, pulling away from him slightly. "Perhaps, as their mother, I would like to be involved in their rescue. Now, I will not hear of any more persuasion to stay at home...I'm coming with you," You walked past Sebastian and headed for the stairs, not wanting to discuss the issue any further. But Sebastian could see that you were still holding your abdomen slightly.

"(F/N), I mean it," he growled, making you stop. You had never heard him use that tone of voice on you before, and it didn't sit well with you. You rounded on him and looked at him with a questioning expression. "You're staying here. I won't risk putting you and the baby in any danger, especially if you are not well,"

"I'm  _fine_ ," you insisted, really hoping that the conversation wasn't going the way you thought it was. You didn't want to have a fight with him. "And I am going. I refuse to be stopped this time. I want to be able to help my children-- _all_ of them,"

Sebastian walked up to you and without really looking at you gently took you by the shoulders and tried to propel you back towards the bedroom. "Come now, stop being so stubborn. You need to rest,"

"Stop making me feel as though I can't do anything!" you cried, pulling out of his grasp. He clearly hadn't expected you to be so strong, but the gaze he cast upon you was one of both despair and annoyance. You didn't like it one bit. You looked back at him with an expression of hurt and anger, not wanting to believe that he was trying to stop you from going to your children's aid. "I am getting so fed up of staying here while you go out to do all of the search and rescue work..."

Sebastian sighed and shook his head. "We are not having this discussion now," he said bluntly, turning around. He spotted Dolly coming up the stairs towards you both and stopped her. "Dorothy, make sure that (F/N) doesn't leave tonight,"

"You can't control me, Sebastian," you growled in a voice that was positively savage. You noticed as his body tensed up and you could feel the sudden apprehension coursing through him. "Dolly, do not try to stop me," you said to your maid. You hoped that she would be on your side rather than Sebastian's. You saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye with a look that could only be described as one of warning. He didn't say anything, and walked downstairs.

You watched him take his coat off the coat rack near the door, and he was almost gone before you walked past Dolly and down the stairs to join him. He stopped and glared at you, then up at Dolly. He knew instantly where her loyalties lay--ultimately--but he had rather hoped that she would be more interested in the welfare of the unborn baby. But perhaps Dolly was more in tune with what you knew to be right. He shook his head and walked outside, not speaking to anyone anymore. He climbed into the carriage but did not signal to the driver to set off before you could get in too.

You had your coat with you and Dolly saw you off from the door, closing it as soon as the carriage was out of sight. You sat there opposite your husband, but neither of you said a word and neither of you looked at the other. You were extremely angry with him--even though you knew why he had said the things he had--and you hated the way he'd tried to control you this evening. You resisted the urge to shake your head in your irritation, knowing that he would spot the movement right away.

In your anger, you kept looking out of the window and nowhere near where Sebastian was sitting. Therefore, you did not notice him trying to catch your eye.

-

"Welcome to the Crewe Estate, Lord and Lady Michaelis," said the head butler, bowing to you both at the door. "My name is Eugene and I am honoured to welcome you to this household,"

You smiled and thanked him, while Sebastian simply bowed. After all, you were the head of your estate and it was more appropriate for you to be the one to greet people. You and Sebastian still weren't speaking to each other though. Soon, you were greeted by a very pretty young woman with bright blue eyes and purple hair.

"Good evening, Lord and Lady Michaelis," she said. "It is so good to see you again, my Lord, and a great pleasure to meet you, my Lady,"

"It is good to see you too, Miss Crewe," said Sebastian, bowing to her a little. "Darling, this is Miss Georgina Crewe, the Baron's youngest daughter," he added, introducing you to her. So  _this_ was Georgina, you thought. You also noted how little Sebastian seemed to want to say anything at all.

"A pleasure to meet you too, Miss Crewe," you said, greeting her as she had greeted you. "You have a lovely home here,"

"Thank you very much, Lady Michaelis. Might I say how beautiful you are in person? I have only heard lovely rumours about you, however I can now confirm that you are as wonderful as they all say,"

You blushed a little and thanked her. "You are very lovely yourself,"

"Why, thank you!" she giggled. "Please, do enjoy the party! I will catch up with you later," she went on, before taking her leave once more and disappearing into the crowd of party goers.

"She seems nice," you said blankly, not really wanting to speak much either.

"Certainly," said Sebastian. You willed yourself not to sigh, either, or do anything untoward that would attract Sebastian's attention. To be honest, you just wanted some time alone so that this could all blow over. You stood together for a short while before other people approached and you got drawn into conversation with them instead. Soon, you found that you were nowhere near each other, separated by an entire hall. That was when Georgina came over and started to chat to you.

She asked all sorts of questions, but the ones that you were most wary of were the ones about the baby. You could not help questioning for yourself the motive behind every single question about your children nowadays, especially those from people with the surname 'Crewe'. You just didn't trust them. However, Georgina seemed genuinely interested in the child...Then again, so had Emily in Miriam and Seamus, and look what happened there...

You looked around the room briefly as Georgina turned to address a question that someone had for her. You noticed upon the wall a portrait of a man and a woman who you could only assume were the Baron and Baroness Crewe. But, you thought, it was strange that they weren't there at the party even though it was supposedly theirs. "Um...Georgina?" you said as she turned back to you.

"Yes, Lady (F/N)?" she said cheerfully, looking expectantly at you.

"May I ask where your parents are? I believe that you said that this was their party," you said, genuinely interested in what she was going to say. You felt a little bit guilty though when she looked down at her feet and responded.

"They died some years ago," she said. "After my sisters'...Incidents, they both became very ill and died within a week of each other,"

"Oh, my..." you gasped. "I am terribly sorry, Miss Crewe...I shouldn't have asked..."

"No, please do not apologise," she said with a smile. "If we did not ask questions then where would we be? Besides, I prefer people to ask about them, and my sisters. After all, they're right here with us tonight,"

You nodded and asked her what she meant by that.

"Well...Everybody invited to our little soirées knows about our family secret, and they are sworn to secrecy too," she said. "They are 'grim reapers'. It apparently happens to those who take their own lives..."

"Again, I am  _so_ sorry to hear that..." you murmured to her, trying to soothe her. It was an awful topic, and for it to have happened to both of her sisters was beyond terrible. 

"No, please! They're right here with us...They came back as reapers," said Georgina, smiling brightly. "I am so happy to have my sisters back, of course,"

You nodded again, just as something caught your eye. On the other side of the room, Sebastian was speaking to a group of people but among them was a very beautiful woman with purple hair and gleaming chartreuse eyes. She looked just like Emily, but facially just like Georgina too. You realised that this must have been Georgina's other sister, and you angrily noticed how close she was to your husband.

"Ah, that is my sister Julianna," said Georgina, indicating to you the beautiful woman with the purple hair. "She is older than me but younger than our sister Emily,"

"I see..." you said, watching her closely. You turned your back on them slightly, but still watched them out of the corner of your eye. You hated the way that Sebastian was speaking to her in seemingly such friendly terms, and even more so because you were not on speaking terms with him yourself. It didn't help that you felt so insecure about the way you looked at the moment--you felt so big and unwieldy compared to the other ladies at the ball with you--because it made you feel almost as if Sebastian would be looking at more attractive women...You worried that because of your argument it would make it even easier for him to think of other women...

Just then, you caught Julianna glancing across the room at you. When she saw you she smirked and you saw red for a moment. How  _dare_ she...? You wanted to rip her tongue out through her teeth and set fire to her body when you saw that. You retained your dignity and composure, however, and turned away from her to continue speaking to her sister. This irked her incredibly, and more than you ever could have imagined or hoped for.

In her annoyance, Julianna turned back to Sebastian and began to flirt unashamedly with him. You could not hear what they were saying to each other but you could clearly see that she was trying to seduce him. You angrily and brokenheartedly turned away from them and looked out of the window, before quickly looking back to see her standing in the doorway, waving to him as though she wanted him to follow. To your despair, he went with her.

You couldn't believe this. The distress you felt suddenly caused the baby to stir inside of you. You felt extremely sick at that point, and had to take a seat somewhere. You didn't want to believe that Sebastian would do this to you...

-

"What was it that you wanted to show me, Miss Julianna?" Sebastian asked, calling out to the woman moving swiftly along the corridor just ahead of him. He had already seen right through her, though, and knew exactly what she was trying to do. He also knew the secret that she was keeping from him, about his children.

"Come in here, Lord Michaelis," she said, opening a door just off the corridor. She walked in and called for Sebastian to come too. They were far enough away from the party that he could only just hear the muffled voices of the other guests. "It's in here,"

She had lured him away on the pretence of showing him an interesting 'heirloom' that had been in the family for generations, and apparently had ties to demonic worship. Sebastian didn't say anything, though, when he walked into the room. He already knew what Julianna was up to. He looked around the room and immediately noticed the purple cloth draped over the bedside lamp. 

"What are you doing?" he asked, glancing with disdain at Julianna.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she replied, lacing her voice with seduction. As she did so, she began unbuttoning her dress and let it drop off her body. Sebastian wasn't really looking, though. He was looking right past her--at the wall, in fact. "Don't you want me, _my Lord_?"

"Not even slightly," he said with a short, condescending laugh.

"What?" said Julianna in a demanding tone. This wasn't how she had intended it to happen. "What are you talking about?"

Sebastian smirked at her and shook his head. "I must say, I am most disappointed in your behaviour, Miss Julianna. Not only are your actions wanton and not befitting a noblewoman, but I am insulted by your assumption that I would be unfaithful to my wife,"

Julianna shook her head in shock, then glared at him. "Well then, you are a fool. I could be far better for you than her,"

Sebastian laughed, then looked her straight in the eyes. " _Nobody_ is better than my wife," he growled, eyes flashing fuchsia. He rushed forward suddenly and grabbed her by the throat. "Now. Tell me what you know about the kidnapping of my children,"

Julianna choked and spluttered as he held her there, slightly suspended above the carpet. "I...don't...know anything!" she coughed, struggling to get away from him. He wasn't going to let go of her. He knew she was lying.

"Now, now. I'm not a patient man...and you know where my children are. I could just kill you,"

" _Wait!_ " she screamed, voice coming out as a gargle. She continued to struggle, but told him something useful. "Emily has them..."

"Thank you," said Sebastian in a sarcastic, sing-song tone of voice. He dropped her roughly on the floor. He made to leave the room when suddenly Julianna threw herself in front of him.

"Please..." she said, almost desperately. "Please stay here, with me. Emily took your children so that I could be a mother...If you stayed...We could be a family..."

"Never before have I listened to anyone so desperate," said Sebastian without emotion. "Please excuse me,"

"No!" cried Julianna, trying to stop him. She pushed him back into the room, forcing him to stay. He laughed at her and she glared at him. "Why are you laughing?"

"You won't keep me away from my wife," he warned, trying to step around her without hurting her. He didn't want to cause a scene, after all. "Please step aside,"

"You're staying here," she said, almost commanding him. It nearly caught him off-guard; it struck him as similar to what he'd been trying to do to you earlier on in the evening.

His eyes turned fuchsia in their entirety, and he grabbed her neck again. This time he didn't hold her for very long at all, and as soon as he grabbed her there was a loud crack that echoed around the room. He left her lifeless on the bed and left the room, brushing his hands against each other as he went as if nothing had happened. He had to get back to you, especially now that he had a new lead. If anything, he would be bringing Emily right to you both.

When he arrived in the ballroom once more, he looked around for you but was alarmed when he couldn't find you. He located Georgina instead.

"Miss Georgina, where is (F/N)?" he asked, still looking around for you as though he thought that he could have missed you.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Lord Michaelis. We looked for you before she left, but she had to go home due to abdominal pain...I hope that she will be alright," said Georgina with a sad expression.

Sebastian's eyes widened in horror, realising that you were travelling on your own. "Thank you for inviting us, Miss Georgina, however I am afraid to say that I will have to join my wife. I could not bear to leave her in her current physical state,"

"Of course, I understand. You are welcome back here any time," said the youngest Crewe sister with a smile. "Thank you for coming,"

Sebastian nodded to her and offered a small, grateful smile. He needed to get out of there first and foremost for you, but also because of the fact that he'd just murdered her sister. And she was dead for good, this time.

As he exited the house, he walked quickly up the driveway and as soon as he was away from any buildings, he started to run. He had to catch up with you--who knew what was going through your mind at that moment?

-

You were already back at the mansion by the time Sebastian came home too. You were just crossing over the balcony over the stairs when you spotted him hanging his coat in the hallway. You completely ignored him after that and walked to your bedroom, shutting the door behind you. You were already in your nightdress and so you simply climbed into bed, lying on your side and facing away from the door.

You heard the door creak open and close again as Sebastian came into the room. The mattress sank under his weight as he crawled across it towards you, before gently wrapping you in a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, kissing your hair. "I never meant to offend you this evening...I just wanted you to be at home where you could be safe and well,"

You didn't say anything, knowing full-well that this wasn't your main problem anymore. You were, of course, grateful for his apology for how he had behaved before you had gone to the party but nothing could soothe your aching heart now.

You heard him sigh gently behind you, and felt as he tenderly rubbed your side. "How are you feeling now? Georgina told me that you had to go home because you were in pain..."

Still you did not reply, and closed your eyes instead to stop the tears from flowing freely down your cheeks. Sebastian's face crumpled with sadness and attempted to roll you over onto your back so that he could see your face. You went with the flow, not bothering to resist him. You opened your eyes and tears rolled down your cheeks against your will, but you also saw how upset your mate looked.

"Why won't you speak to me...?"

"What were you doing with Georgina's sister?" you growled, voice void of all affection for him. He felt that lack of love and it almost killed him there and then.

"Oh, (F/N), you thought...?" Sebastian searched your eyes for answers but he still could not believe that he had been the one to make you feel so rotten. "I am so sorry, (F/N)...I'm sorry I made you think that. But can you smell her on me?" he asked, knowing that he would not have her scent on him as he would have if he'd lain with her.

You shook your head. "No, I can't. But I want to know what you were doing with her," you growled.

He sighed. "I would have hoped that you would trust me better than this..." he said. "It hurts quite a lot to think that you don't...And I was finding out what she knew about Miriam and Seamus,"

Your eyes widened a little in surprise and new, fresh tears began to fall for a different reason. "Oh, Sebastian, I'm so sorry..." you whispered, sitting up to kiss him properly. "I didn't want to doubt you, but...I just thought because of our fight..."

He chuckled and kissed you again. "You mustn't worry about that, darling. It was my fault...I shouldn't have been so hard on you, and I'm sorry..."

"I forgive you, as long as you can forgive me..." you whispered. You knew instantly that he had not been with Julianna in the way you thought he had. There was no trace of her on him, except for his clothes because she had obviously tried something funny with him. "But...what happened with her?"

"She tried to seduce me, and only when I threatened her life did she tell me that Emily has Miriam and Seamus," said Sebastian darkly. "Then, when she refused to let me leave the room when I let go of her, she told me that her sister took our children in order to give Julianna the chance to be a mother. She asked me to stay and make her 'family' complete,"

You bristled angrily and made to get up. "I'll kill her...I'll  _kill_ her!" you hissed. You swore that you would, when suddenly Sebastian gently pulled you back to bed with him.

"That won't be necessary, my love," he whispered, and with that whisper you relaxed considerably.

"You killed her, didn't you?" you murmured.

"Yes," he said with a smile. "I was not going to allow her to disrespect us by trying to destroy our family and our relationship," He cuddled you closer and kissed your forehead, resting his hand on your abdomen. "There is nothing, and nobody, who will separate us,"

You smiled up at him and nodded a little, snuggling up against his chest. You found your love and trust for him renewed and strengthened, and you felt safe once again. "I know," you whispered, knowing that what he said really was the truth. "What will we do now though, darling?" you asked.

He stopped to think for a moment, then spoke. "We need to wait for one of the remaining Crewe sisters to come asking about Julianna's death," he said decisively. "Then, we can take matters from there. If it is Georgina who comes knocking, we will take her hostage. If it is Emily, then that only makes it easier for us--we will get the information we need directly from her,"

You chuckled quietly. "I love it when you take control like this," you murmured, tracing the muscles of his torso through his shirt. " _This_ is the good kind of 'alpha male' behaviour," you then added, teasing him slightly.

He chuckled and kissed you again. "And  _this_ is part of the reason why you are the most perfect woman," he retorted, although meaning every word he said. "I am glad that all is forgiven," You made a small murmur of agreement to his last remark.

As you both settled into each other's embrace, you sincerely hoped that it wouldn't be long before either Emily or Georgina turned up at your door. You were so close now, and all of your senses were on high alert. You really couldn't wait for this moment...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Adding a couple of chapters today because there is a very good chance that I will be unable to do so over the weekend...So here's Chapter Seven!
> 
> On another note, I will soon be starting a series of one-shots in honour of a request made by a lovely anon. So sorry it's taken me a few days to get to this point, but I hope it'll be worth it! ^-^
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	8. The Messengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can feel your objective coming closer and closer, and coming within reach of you and Sebastian. You know that, no matter what happens and however difficult it could prove to be, nothing will prevent you from finishing what Emily Crewe started.

Sebastian gently rubbed your back in an effort to soothe you. You had been sensing the arrivals of people all day long, from the usual visitors to the servants coming and going from the house. It was proof of how incredibly sensitive you were at the moment, awaiting a potential angry visit from either Emily or Georgina. All Sebastian could do was remain by your side to comfort you, making sure that you didn't worry yourself sick as he knew that you probably would if left unsupervised.

"It will be alright, my love. They will come sniffing around here soon enough," he whispered to you, sitting on the edge of the sofa so that he could be in line with you. You were sat so far forward yourself that even the slightest movement would see you slipping off onto the floor. "Please try to relax...You'll do yourself a mischief," he added with a chuckle.

"I cannot, Sebastian..." you murmured. "And neither can you..." You were referring to the way he was jiggling his leg up and down, in sporadic, unsettled bursts. He sighed and leaned in, kissing your temple.

"I know..." he admitted quietly. "I am as eager to finish this as you are..."

You sighed and tried to lean into him, longing for something to happen with regards to the Crewes... _Anything_. You were desperate. Sebastian wrapped his arms around you and held you close, wishing more than anything that he could do something to speed the process along. If one of the remaining Crewe sisters would just show up...Everything would go so much faster after that.

Just as he was thinking this, Dorothy appeared in the doorway and bowed respectfully, remaining silent until addressed.

"Is everything alright, Dolly?" you asked, sitting up a little. She smiled gently at you and nodded.

"Yes, my Lady. Mr. Spears and Mr. Sutcliff are here to see you again," she said, searching your face for any signs of what your answer would be before you gave it.

"Ah...Very well. Please send them in," you said, nodding to her. She bowed again and left the room, heading back towards the main hall to fetch the reapers. You looked to your husband who looked as confused and curious as you felt. "I wonder what this is about..." you murmured, just as he looked back at you from the door. He widened his eyes and shrugged his shoulders slightly.

Dorothy quickly came back, with the bubbly redheaded reaper and his serious, darkly-dressed superior. "My Lord and Lady," she said, introducing them to you as she always did.

"Thank you," said Will, stepping forwards. "Good day," he went on, speaking to you and Sebastian now.

"Hello Will, and Grell," you said, sitting up fully this time. "What brings you here?"

Sebastian gestured to them both to take a seat across from you, which they did readily. They looked as though they had been travelling for a while. "Well," said Will, glancing at Grell. "We said that we wanted to help in the search for your children, in any way that we can. Thus, we are here to tell you what we have found out about Miss Crewe's movements,"

You leaned forward with glittering eyes, eager to receive this information. It was incredibly exciting for you after hearing nothing since the party at the Crewe Estate, and so you were desperate to hear what these reapers had to tell you. "Please, do go on," you said, voice barely more than a whisper.

Will nodded and so did Grell. The latter, for once, seemed to be content to keep quiet and so he did, allowing Will to be the one to relay their findings. "I thought that it may be of interest to you to know that Emily has been continuing with her standard work as a reaper all the while this business has been going on," he said, quite calmly. "Which means that she has been in and out of our headquarters almost every single day, except hardly anyone has seen her,"

Your brow creased in a frown of confusion. "So she has been going about her usual day-to-day tasks as though nothing at all has been happening?"

Will shrugged his shoulders slightly and sighed a little. "That is how it appears to us as well, however this is assuming that Emily truly is the one behind the kidnapping..."

"She is," said Sebastian, interrupting Will suddenly. The dark-haired reaper turned to look at him with what could only be described as dissatisfaction at the disruption. "We were invited to a party at the Crewe Estate on Friday and I received a confession from one of Emily's sisters,"

Finally, Will nodded in acceptance of what Sebastian was telling him. "I had rather hoped that you would have information of your own to supplement ours," he said quietly. "This is good news--at least everyone is on the right track,"

"Indeed," murmured Sebastian, nodding his own head slightly. His arm tightened protectively around you; it had never left your body since you had leaned on him before. "It seems that we are, in fact, very close to our goal,"

"Yes...Quite," said Will, mulling over the very real possibility that you and Sebastian had already formulated a plan for when you came into contact with Emily. He wanted to know about that. "And what, may I ask, are you planning to do to her when you get the chance to speak with her?" he asked, referring back to Emily.

You glanced at Sebastian, who eyed Will coldly. "Use your imagination," he growled, in a dark, almost playful manner. It was as if he really wanted Will to guess what he had planned for Emily. You could have sworn that you saw Will and Grell shiver at the same time.

"I suppose you'll have her killed, won't you?" murmured Will, although he didn't sound entirely bothered about his co-worker's impending doom.

Sebastian didn't say anything, and neither did you. You didn't know how to gauge Will's emotions by his expression alone, although Grell's own countenance suggested that he didn't know what to make of Sebastian's murderous intentions. Of course, your own were the same--you wanted your children's kidnapper dead and gone. Sebastian simply held Will, chiefly, in a sharp, meaningful gaze and that meaning was very clear.

"Of course we will," said Sebastian bluntly, without any emotion whatsoever. He was serious about his intended course of action, and he wasn't going to be deterred. As it soon became clear to you though, neither Will nor Grell were interested in putting him--or you--off.

Will harrumphed slightly, in an extremely disinterested way. "Please be our guest," he snorted. "She deserves to be punished..."

You were quite surprised to hear him say this. It simply wasn't in his interests to allow anyone--much less a demon--to kill his colleagues and fellow reapers, but here he was practically inviting you to it. "Why would you say that?" you asked him. You were even more surprised to meet his soft eyes as he turned his previously aloof gaze upon you.

"Your children happen to be rather likeable," he replied. "If you don't kill her for what she's done, I will,"

Sebastian's eyes were as wide as yours, at this point. "I must say, I'm rather surprised to hear you say that..." you murmured, considering the fact that perhaps you could truly consider Will to be a friend now. Will managed a very small smile, which was uncharacteristic of him, and he didn't say anything else. Grell made no attempt to offer his opinion on anything either, choosing simply to sit there and listen.

"Well," said Will, after some time spent in silence ticked on by. "We should be off. We will be keeping an eye out for Emily at headquarters from now on, but if anything happens here in the meantime, I'm sure that you will be able to handle it yourselves," he went on, standing up. "Come on, Sutcliff. We have work to do,"

You shivered at how very ominous that statement was. A reaper with work to do simply meant that people were dying--of course they were--but they were the harbingers of the event, it seemed. You smiled, however, and saw them out. They left you feeling considerably calmer, and in a better position to wait and see who would be next to appear at your door.

Sebastian appeared behind you as you watched the reapers leaving the estate, and wound his arm back around your body. "I'm impressed with how quickly they came to us with that..." he muttered, watching them leave as well.

"Yes...It was very good of them to do so," you replied, not entirely focused on anything in particular. "And I was surprised by Will's...desire to see justice served,"

"As much as I am loathe to admit it...I think that those two are rather like uncles to the children. It stands to reason that they would be upset with Emily's behaviour," he said, rubbing your side gently with his thumb.

"I do believe you're right..." you whispered, cuddling up to Sebastian. He walked you back inside and closed the door, seeing that sunset was beginning to dye the sky orange. It would start getting chilly outside, and he wanted you in the warm.

All you had to do now was sit tight and see what would happen...and you had a feeling that you wouldn't have long to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Happy Monday everyone; hope you all had a good weekend! Here is the next update for this story, and very soon (as I said at the end of a previous chapter) I will be starting on some one-shots for you lovely people! :)
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	9. Come Hell or High Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You had a feeling that you wouldn't have much longer to wait for a new development to occur, and you were right. Who is this at your door, and what will happen when you get to speak to them?
> 
> Nobody will stop you from doing whatever it takes to get your children back...

By that evening, you were extremely agitated and there was no apparent cause of your distress. At least, not to anyone who wasn't you or Sebastian. You knew that something was afoot, and you wanted to know exactly when the event that you were predicting was going to occur. All you wanted to do was get your children back, and it had frustrated and upset you enough this past week or so knowing that there were so few leads on their kidnapper that you couldn't do anything to find them.

When faced with the fiend who took them, you were going to be absolutely wild with fury.

"Are you alright, darling? Please try not to strain yourself..." said Sebastian, watching as you paced around the salon in your anxious state of mind. There was very little that he could do for you at this stage, other than try to convince you to sit down. But he'd tried several times already. You just weren't in the mood to try to settle yourself down. Opportunity would soon come knocking, and you didn't want to be sitting down when it arrived.

"I'm fine, thank you..." you muttered, going over to the window to gaze out upon the garden, bathed in bright orange light from the setting sun. "I won't strain myself, sweetheart, do not worry,"

Sebastian gazed at you with soft eyes, wondering how you managed with being pregnant and apprehensive about your missing children. Of course, he was worried about exactly the same things, except he was only an expectant father and not carrying the child himself. He truly admired you for your resilience and bravery in this adversity. Even when you had both gone through that blip on the night of the party at the Crewe Estate, you had been extremely strong even in the face of that kind of hardship. You really were incredible.

"Come and sit with me awhile," he said, gesturing for you to come over to him. You obliged, walking over to him and sitting down on the sofa. You faced him and smiled as much as you could. "That's better," he whispered, kissing your forehead.

"I do feel better..." you replied, closing your eyes at his touch. That was when you heard somebody approaching--quickly.

"M'Lord, M'Lady!" babbled Mey-Rin, rushing through the door. "There's someone 'ere to see you, yes there is!"

"Who is it?" asked Sebastian, taking immediate notice of her frantic conduct. "You seem rather upset about it..."

"Well she isn't very happy--no, sir!" gabbled the maid, hopping from one foot to the other. "It's the lady from the city square...Georgina Crewe, was it...?"

Sebastian's expression darkened considerably and you felt yours do the same. Rage bubbled hotly in your blood and you nearly leaped up to run to the door, but restrained yourself of course. You looked to your mate for instruction, and he looked back at you and nodded.

"(F/N), I'm going to leave you to answer the door to her, alright?" he said in a low, measured voice. "I will go around the back and herd her into the house,"

"Sounds like a plan," you said, with a cunning grin. You and he had this planned, and it didn't take long to agree on the course of action that you would take. Sebastian's natural 'alpha male' was the one making the decisions, and you were more than happy to go along with his proposed strategy.

"Excellent," he said, and leaned forward to kiss you sweetly on the lips. He stood and left the room, leaving you to go to the door. You knew that he would not allow you to enter into a situation that would endanger you, and so you had no qualms about being the one to face Georgina's wrath head-on. You reached the door and found that Tanaka was there, holding it open for you and so that Georgina would not be left standing aimlessly on the doorstep.

"Ah, Miss Crewe," you said, in a more cheerful manner. "What brings you here at this hour? Is everything alright?" you asked, doing your very best to appear oblivious to the real reason that she was on your doorstep. Her expression turned from one of anger to complete outrage.

"You know  _precisely_ why I'm here!" she yelled at you, doing everything in her power to hold herself back from swinging for you. You could see her desire to slap you in her eyes, but you had to suppress the smirk that threatened to appear on your lips. "You knew that my sister was  _dead_ , and yet you left my family's estate to avoid saying anything!" she said, voice bordering on hysteria.

This time you really did smirk. "I'll have you know that I had no knowledge of your sister's demise until  _after_ I returned home that evening," you told her, shaking your head slowly. "So yes, I did know about it but not at the time that I took my leave,"

Georgina stamped her foot on the doorstep and screamed in anger, clutching at her hair as she did so. She looked as though she was in the throes of madness, fighting against insanity. You wondered what knowledge she really had of her sisters' little scheme. Just then, Sebastian appeared in the driveway behind her, having left the house through the back door and gone through the garden to get to where he was. Georgina advanced towards you, and made to slap you, however Sebastian rushed up behind her and caught her wrist before she could move her hand to hurt you. Not that she would have done much. 

You stepped backwards as he grabbed her, and watched as she flailed and screamed while trying to get loose. "Unhand me!" she shrieked, causing all of the servants in the vicinity to stop what they were doing and poke their heads around the doors of their respective rooms.  _"Let go!"_ she continued to screech, kicking out at Sebastian and thrashing around in his grip.

"Now, now..." he said, in a disturbingly soothing voice. "If you keep struggling like this then you may break your arm..." Sebastian walked forwards with her still in his grasp before propelling her with force into the house, shutting the door behind him as he followed suit. You grinned triumphantly; you now had your hostage, and it wouldn't be long before she attracted the attention of her big sister...

"What are you doing?!" screamed Georgina, turning frantically back and forth between you and your husband. "Emily will kill you for this!"

"No, she won't," you said, chuckling slightly. You knew very well that your servants were watching the scene unfold, but you didn't care anymore. You couldn't feel a single disapproving stare resting on you. "And you know that she won't,"

"You are a fool, (F/N) Michaelis!" spat Georgina, rounding on you fully. "If Emily finds out about this then she'll..."

"Emily won't do anything," said Sebastian, holding his position in the hall. "Why would you hide behind your sister like this? Are you not your own being, after all?"

Georgina turned to face Sebastian and smirked at him. "You really ought to keep your mouth shut, Lord Michaelis. I am sure that you haven't yet told your wife about your infidelity with my sister...Oh. Did I say that out loud?" she sneered, putting a hand over her mouth and pretending to be appalled by her own words. Sebastian sneered right back at her.

"I do believe that you are the fool, Miss Crewe," he said with a chuckle. "What makes you think that I was unfaithful to my wife?"

"The fact that Julianna was in her undergarments when we found her dead upon her bed," sniffed Georgina with arrogance. She glanced at you over her shoulder and saw that her words caused no reaction in you. "Why does this not bother you?!" she shouted at you.

"Because he told me everything," you said simply, with a shrug of your shoulders. "She tried to seduce him, and once he had the information he needed, and when she prevented him from leaving, he killed her,"

Georgina's expression only grew angrier as you told her this and she ran at you, screaming while raising a balled fist as though to punch you in the face. You smirked and anticipated her approach, timing it perfectly so that you could catch her fist with one hand while smacking her in the face with the other. She was knocked out cold and you brushed your hands together as though wiping them clean of a job well done. You looked across at Sebastian and grinned.

"That was easier than I thought it would be," you said with a smirk. Sebastian smiled proudly across at you and moved over to embrace you.

"Very nicely done," he whispered to you, kissing the top of your head. "Now, let's make a call to William and Grell,"

"What will you tell them?" you asked, wondering what his next plans were going to be. You felt as though you already knew, though, because it was partly what you had been thinking of as well.

"To leave a note for Emily at their headquarters saying that her sister has been kidnapped herself," he said with a victorious grin. "We are so close, (F/N). So close..."

"Yes..." you agreed with a single nod of certainty. You couldn't wait for this final phase; you were soon going to have your babies back in your arms. The only thing you thought of, though, that was even slightly negative was that if that woman had hurt them in any way, shape or form then she was going to fall into a pit far deeper and far blacker than anything Hell could threaten her with. You leaned into Sebastian for a moment, before backing away and allowing him to go and make this phone call.

You simply lifted Georgina up off the floor where she lay unconscious--with your demonic strength it didn't matter if you were pregnant or not--and carried her to the dining room. You pulled out a chair and sat her upright in it, before ordering Dolly--who had followed you--to find some rope in the garden. She returned with it a couple of minutes later and you bound Georgina tightly to the chair, but remembering that she was human and how horrible it was to have this done to you, you loosened it slightly but not so much that she could escape or be easily released.

Just as you finished doing this, Sebastian appeared behind you and spoke. "It is done," he said, smiling softly at you. "What have you done here?" he asked with approval.

"I brought her in here and tied her up, is all," you said, smiling at him. "At least then we won't have a rogue human running around the house trying to escape,"

Sebastian chuckled darkly and kissed you. "You may be pure of soul but you are every bit as demonic as I am," he growled, stroking your cheek gently with the side of his finger. "How very bad you are,"

You chuckled and hugged him as he stood close to you, but you took no more time to admire your handiwork. "What did the reapers say?" you asked, genuinely curious about his conversation with them.

"It was William, of course, but he said that he would be more than happy to leave a note for her to find," said Sebastian, hugging you back. "We have him and Grell completely on our side,"

You sighed with contentment and nodded against his chest. You were extremely happy that you had at least come this far with the plan to get your children back. You hadn't seriously thought that Georgina or Emily would be stupid enough to come knocking on your door, but apparently you had been wrong on that count. You heard your hostage stirring behind you, but you could sense that she would not be awake for some time yet. You had hit her rather hard, after all...

Now, all you had to do was prepare for the moment when Emily would find that note...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy again!
> 
> I'm really in the mood for writing this evening so here's another chapter! Chapter Nine is now online!
> 
> \- SooperChicken


	10. When a Plan Comes Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is in place, and your plan has been set in motion. You are extremely excited to get to work, and to see how this plan works out. You had your hostage and a tip-off, and now all you had to do was wait for Emily to take the bait. She is in trouble, regardless of whether she bites or not.
> 
> What will happen when this all comes to a head, and what will happen thereafter?

Everyone was in the opinion that Georgina would make the perfect lure to attract Emily to the house. You would also check back on her periodically to see if she was awake. After an hour of being knocked out cold, she was indeed awake and tossing about in the chair. You warned her--only once--that if she continued to thrash about like this then she would undoubtedly do herself some damage, such as rope burn on her wrists or if she was really unlucky she would end up making herself bleed.

"Let. Me. Go," she snarled, the next time you walked into the room. Finny had been instructed, while Georgina was still asleep, to move her to another room where she would be less accessible than if she remained in the dining room. You didn't know where, exactly, was less accessible than the dining room but you had her transferred to the salon anyway. At least there was only one door in and out of that room, whereas in the dining room there were two. Plus, you could easily keep an eye on the windows as well.

You chuckled, giving Georgina a once over. She had struggled so much in her binds--you fully expected her to, to be honest--that her hair was out of place and she had a positively wild look about her. It was not especially befitting a baron's daughter, but that couldn't be helped. She had probably been led astray by her older sisters anyway, and the strain that it must have put on Georgina's entire being when Emily and Julianna became reapers was most likely immense. You couldn't blame her for being angry that one of her sisters was dead for good this time, and met that fate at the hands of somebody else. But at the same time, you felt no sympathy whatsoever for Julianna. If Sebastian hadn't killed her, you would have.

"I do not understand your motive for demanding your release," you said coolly, maintaining absolute composure. "You have ordered this of us several times, but again, I fail to see how you could think that we would oblige,"

"Because if you refuse, my sister will tear you limb from limb," Georgina spat, thinking--for some reason--that she could threaten you.

You laughed at her, and Sebastian came to your side. He grinned too, finding the spectacle before him amusing. "I scarcely think that she will," he said, with more threat in his voice directed at Georgina than anything she could ever muster. You smiled up at your mate and placed a hand gently on his back. You felt him relax under your touch.

"You fiends..." she growled, shaking her head violently. "What makes you think that she won't?"

"We do not fear reapers," said Sebastian simply. "Your sister is no exception. In fact, there are very few things that a demon would have to fear, and none of them are threats posed by you,"

"A...demon?" whispered Georgina. You were slightly surprised, thinking that she already knew what you and Sebastian were.

"Yes," Sebastian replied, allowing his true eye colour to show. Georgina squirmed fearfully in her chair, as though trying to escape from you both. You smirked at her, as Sebastian did, and you shook your head as you allowed your own eyes to appear fuchsia too. "You see, now? The folly of your sisters' ways, kidnapping the children of demons?"

Georgina shuddered, realising that she was in grave danger. "Julianna wanted to be a mother...Emily sought to help her to achieve that goal,"

"You do not take children from their parents. Ever," growled Sebastian, restraining himself from attacking her outright. He had to save that for Emily.

Georgina said nothing to this, and simply looked into her lap with more of a resigned kind of agitation than what you had hoped would be more of a dejected expression. You sniffed slightly and walked away, with Sebastian following you closely. Finny walked into the room in order to stand guard on the inside, while Dolly moved in to protect the room from the outside. She closed the door as soon as you and Sebastian were well beyond the room itself.

"What are we going to do when Emily gets here? If she decides to come here..." you murmured to him, walking to the stairs. Sebastian grinned at you.

"We'll prove that we have Georgina, force Emily to tell us where Miriam and Seamus are, and then decide what to do with the Crewes afterwards,"

You smiled back at him. You loved how he had an answer for everything. "I am content with that," you murmured, moving closer to him for a hug. Every day you thought about how happy you were that he had chosen you to be his mate, and how happy you were as well that you would be with him forever.

"She's as good as dead..." he whispered to you, referring to Emily. You snuggled into his chest, feeling his warmth and his beating, demonic heart. It filled yours with joy to know that you and your children were the only people that he would ever love, and ever had loved.

"I know she is," you said resolutely. "We'll bring her down together," You felt Sebastian nod as he rested his head on yours.

"We won't have long to wait, either. I can sense that she is on her way,"

You chuckled. "She had better be..."

-

You were sat waiting for some time after Sebastian's comment about Emily being on her way to rescue her sister. You saw and heard nothing, from anyone. Even though you sat patiently in the room next door to the salon, you didn't even hear Georgina protesting against her being held captive or even any of her struggling. There was nothing else to take notice of, until your ears pricked up at a promising sound. Sebastian looked up too, as did Mey-Rin who stood guard in the room with you.

"That sounds interesting..." you murmured, standing up. Sebastian grabbed your hand to make you stay, standing up as he did so.

"Stay here, darling. Mey-Rin, look after her," he growled, walking out of the room. He was very quiet as he went, taking care not to get sprung by the person who you knew was an intruder. You remained totally silent, glancing from the door to Mey-Rin and back again. After a short while, waiting in complete silence, there was suddenly a very loud bang followed by a great upheaval in the main hallway. You rushed outside to see what was going on, and saw Emily there swinging her death scythe left and right at Sebastian. It was a little like Grell's, but smaller.

Sebastian moved so quickly that he was able to kick the scythe out of her hands and send it flying across the room. It slid to a stop on the other side, not quite hitting the wall, and he darted forward to catch her. That was the end of the fight for Emily, but she still continued to struggle as Sebastian held her there.

"Let go,  _let go!_ " she shrieked, tossing and turning this way and that. You simply watched as Sebastian restrained her, quietly impressed--as always--with his strength and poise. You were very proud to stand beside him. You smirked at Emily as soon as she saw you, and she cast an angry glare in your direction. "Where is my sister?!" she demanded, almost as if she thought that she had a degree of control over the situation.

"Oh, she is here," you said, but shook your head to indicate that you weren't going to reunite them just yet. "But I just thought that we might have a little chat, first,"

"What? What are you talking about?" growled Emily, jerking in Sebastian's extremely tight grip.

"Well, for one thing I want you to know that we are both wondering how you could have been so stupid as to walk straight into this house, knowing that this is probably what you were facing," you said, shrugging your shoulders and chuckling a little.

"Don't call me stupid..." spat Emily, glowering at you. "I want my sister back. Especially after you murdered Julianna," she added, trying to kick Sebastian in the shin from behind her. He was far enough away from her that she could do nothing other than miss him completely

"Your actions as of late certainly seem to suggest otherwise," you muttered, shaking your head again. "Walking straight into the home of several demons, kidnapping the children of two of those demons..."

Emily laughed, angering both you and Sebastian. "Yes, well...We could have looked after those children very well if only you would just let them go. I was going to come back for that precious baby of yours as well, when the time came," she said. You nearly rushed over to knock her head off her shoulders when she said that, but you were stopped by the sight of Sebastian almost strangling her in his incredible, vice-like grasp. When he loosened his hold slightly, she spoke again with a splutter. "You have no idea how difficult it was to lose a sister because she wanted so badly to be a mother..."

"As I have already said to your sister, that does not give you permission to kidnap the children of other people," snarled Sebastian, seeing fit to throttle her again but resisting the temptation. "I hope that you realise the danger that you are in, now,"

Emily snorted disdainfully. "I would not have come here if my sister was not in danger also," she grumbled. "I do not have such a death wish,"

"You are still a fool. I could kill you in an instant,"

"And then you would never find out where your children are," Emily said in retaliation, earning herself a brief squeeze of her throat. 

"Yes, about that," you growled, coming closer. "Tell us where they are,"

"Not until you show me my sister,"

You shook your head in dismay, then backed away slightly. "Finny, untie Georgina and bring her out here," you called to the gardener, still standing guard in the salon. He came out with the youngest Crewe sister momentarily, having responded to your command instantaneously. He drove her towards you until she was close enough for you to take hold of, preventing her from escaping.

"Thank you, Finny," you said to him, before turning back to Emily. "Here you are," You smirked at the eldest sister, nodding your head vaguely towards Georgina.

"Sister...Help me!" she cried to Emily, pleading with her to help her to regain her freedom. Emily began to shake with anger.

"Release her!" she shouted at you, trying to force her way out of Sebastian's clutches. She wasn't going anywhere.

"Not until you tell us where our children are," you growled, mimicking the way in which Emily had bartered with you for information just moments earlier.

Emily sighed and quivered slightly in both anger and what looked like defeat. "I have been moving around with them a lot, just recently. But right now they are locked in my office at the reapers' headquarters. When I'm not there, nobody would think to look inside," she confessed, knowing that now there was a very good chance that she was going to lose this battle.

You breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that your babies weren't huddled in the middle of nowhere being stowed out of sight. This meant that, even though you and Sebastian--as demons--were unable to enter the headquarters yourselves, you would be able to ask Grell and William to rescue Miriam and Seamus and bring them to a place where you could be reunited with them.

"Very well then," you muttered, glancing at Georgina now. "We are not dishonest people. You may have your sister back," You let Georgina go, knowing very well what she was about to do. You could sense the adrenaline and anger rising inside her, and you knew that an attack was imminent.

"You  _bitch_ ," snarled Georgina, rounding on you as soon as you released her. Sebastian knew what you were doing as well, but he flinched as Georgina used this harsh word against you. He wanted to kill her for that alone. "You take me hostage and then use me as leverage in getting your children back, something that my sister worked so hard for, and for my _other_ sister?!" she screamed. "Go back to Hell where you belong!"

She made a swing for you again, but this time she aimed for a different part of your body. Sebastian let go of Emily in an effort to run to protect you, but your vision went blank and you caught her wrist once more. Georgina had made the very grave mistake of aiming for your abdomen, to hurt your unborn baby. You could not believe her audacity or her cruelty, and you would not stand for any of this ridiculousness any longer. You had been longing for your chance to do something substantial in the fight to return your children to your arms and their home, and this was what you were going to do. No matter what state you were in--whether you were able to run about searching for leads or not--you could absolutely take your revenge on the people who had caused your family such misery.

Before you knew it, there was an ear-splitting shriek coming from Emily and then nothing else. Your vision returned to you, and you saw what you had done. You allowed yourself a menacing, satisfied grin. You looked at Georgina, who now had a razor-sharp blade piercing her body. It was a secret weapon of yours, something that you could do while in your 'true' demon form. But it had manifested itself in your more human form, although you were still, of course, a demon.

Georgina was already gone, knowing nothing of her death or the pain that would have been dealt to her if she had survived just a little longer. You were not going to stand for any attacks on your children, no matter what, and regardless of who posed the threat. You looked across the room at Sebastian, who smiled gently at you with pride. He was glad that you had been the one to do this, but now he realised that Emily was loose.

"You'll die for this!" she bellowed, rushing towards you faster than either you or Sebastian could see. However, your instincts kicked in immediately and you caught her by the throat with your free hand, blade retracting from Georgina's lifeless body as you turned to stop Emily's own attack. You smirked at her and shook your head.

"When will you learn...?" you murmured, a hint of disappointment lingering in your voice. Emily struggled against your enormous strength, when suddenly it became apparent that you were extremely bored of the situation now. You unsheathed the blade in this arm, this time, and pierced Emily's throat. When you let go of her, she collapsed in a heap on the floor, where she bled out. You retracted the blades in both of your arms--they came from your forearms, and you could decide whether they became unsheathed from the underside or the topside of your arm--and brushed your hands off.

"Are you alright, my love?" said Sebastian, rushing over to you and checking you over in your entirety. You chuckled and nodded.

"I am fine thank you, darling," you murmured. "That was much easier than I had initially thought it would be..."

He chuckled and regarded you with an affectionate gaze. "I knew that there would be something that only you could do on this mission of ours," he whispered, kissing your forehead. "And you truly do possess the lethal powers of a demon. One would think that you had been one all your life,"

"I am glad of your approval," you giggled. You looked at the two slightly bloody bodies crumpled on the marble floor and shook your head. "Such a waste," you said. "Finny, could you please call for Dolly and Mey-Rin, and get this mess cleaned up?"

Finny poked his head back around the salon door, for he had been hiding for the duration of your confrontation with the remaining Crewe sisters. "Yes, m'Lady! Right away!" he gushed, smiling over at you. You loved the innocence that he had managed to retain, even despite becoming a demon several years before. You turned back to your husband and grinned.

"Let's give Grell and Will a call then, shall we?"

Sebastian smiled brightly at you and nodded, following you to the telephone.

_**~ Two Months Later ~** _

"Mother!" squealed Miriam, running into the room where you sat looking out of the window. You smiled down at your beautiful little girl, patting your knee to indicate that she should come and sit down. She did this with great enthusiasm.

"What is it, darling?" you murmured, gently stroking her (H/C) hair. "You seem rather happy,"

"I am always happy, Mother!" she giggled, cuddling up to you. She rested her head slightly on your chest and you felt that familiar, blissful maternal feeling rise up inside you. You saw Sebastian appear in the doorway, and he smiled lovingly at you. He had Seamus sitting on his hip as he carried him. "Grandmother and Grandfather are here!" Miriam went on, nearly forgetting what she had run into the room to tell you. Your eyes brightened and began to shine with happiness. It had been quite some time since you had last seen them.

Seeing your children, though, reminded you of how lucky you were that you had friends as good as the servants of your household and William and Grell, too. They had broken into Emily's office as soon as Grell picked up your phone call and rescued your children from that room, bringing them to a place where you could meet with them. You had all returned home immediately, and that was that. You hadn't let go of either your son or your daughter for almost an entire week before they got flustered with all of your motherly attention. Sebastian was much the same with his paternal instincts kicking in the way they had.

"Are we going downstairs yet?" said Seamus impatiently, jiggling around in his father's arms. Sebastian chuckled and put the boy down, who started running circles around him.

"Of course we can," he told him, just as the little lad ran over to you and rose up on tiptoes, giving you a sweet little kiss on the cheek. He was very happy too, especially now that everyone was home and well.

"Come on then," you said fondly, lifting Miriam as you stood up. She clung to you slightly, before grinning saucily at you and hopping down onto the floor. She grabbed Seamus by the hand and ran out of the room with him, crying "Grandmother! Grandfather!" excitedly as they went, rushing along the corridor towards the stairs. You just about heard Mey-Rin cry out in surprise as the children rushed past; she must have nearly dropped something, you thought. You smiled serenely over at Sebastian, who returned it just as sweetly.

He moved over towards you and kissed you tenderly on the lips. As your lips parted from each other's, he turned his gentle gaze on the cradle just beside the chair that you had been sitting in. He approached it silently and peered in, and his eyes softened even more as he regarded the tiny, sleeping baby swathed in soft blankets. He leaned over to--ever so carefully--pick the child up to hold in his arms. Your heart melted like butter every time you saw him do this, the look of awe and absolute love that he gave to all of his children--and you--but the way in which he would hold the baby was so sweet and ginger, as though he was afraid of breaking him.

Your second son, Jasper, was only a week old and you were still very tired, but Miriam and Seamus were very taken with their new baby brother and, like them, he brought you and Sebastian so much joy. He was a bonny little lad, and you were already so very proud of him. You couldn't wait to see what sort of personality he was going to be, but you could already tell, somewhat. He was going to be a cheeky boy, you knew that much. He was already proving to be so much like his father.

Sebastian glanced over at you where you stood admiring the scene before you. He looked as though he very much wanted to kiss you again, but with the baby in his arms he was more than just a little cautious about not waking him up. "Thank you..." Sebastian whispered, catching your attention very suddenly.

"Why are you thanking me...?" you asked, wondering what he was talking about. You smiled at him, though, knowing that he was going to say something impossibly sweet.

"For giving me such a wonderful family..." he murmured, looking at you with soft, glittering eyes. He was a very happy man indeed.

You covered your mouth ever so slightly, and just for a moment, before replying. "In that case I should be thanking you as well, darling..." you whispered, walking to his side. You gazed at your baby boy, and then back up at your mate in order to kiss him.

"Well...We have forever to spend together. I am sure that there will be many more adventures to be had..." he replied quietly, with a cheeky grin on his face at the same time. He kissed you again before you both began moving towards the door. After all, your parents were still downstairs waiting to see you both, and their new grandchild. Sebastian looked at you with such love in his eyes that he wasn't sure how you didn't seem to be able to feel it every time he regarded you. You were always so beautiful, and so perfect. He couldn't help thinking that, although loving you had made him considerably softer, and having children with you softer still, but he admired the way that you managed to keep him being himself. He would be lost without you.

"Easy does it, Romeo," you giggled, knowing what he was getting at. "Give it some time, and then we'll discuss this again," you added with a wink. You didn't know if you could manage another baby just yet, after the three you'd already given birth to, but it filled your heart with glee to know that your mate was so keen to expand the family you already had together.

He laughed quietly to himself as he walked alongside you. "I know, I know..." he chuckled, almost as if this was a game that you played together. "I just look forward to it,"

You smiled up at him and carefully slipped your hand into the crook of his elbow as he carried Jasper while he walked. "Me too," you murmured, and he smiled brightly at you.

You had an eternity to look forward to together, and the family that you had would go through that eternity with you. It truly was the best thing in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good evening!
> 
> Chapter Ten is now complete, and that also marks the end of this sequel to 'Sheer Magnetism'! Hope you enjoyed!  
> I will now be getting to work on some one-shots for you lovely people, the first being the request sent to me by a lovely anon. See you soon!
> 
> \- SooperChicken


End file.
